tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68792999009806058472019-05-25T04:58:44.134-07:00Salish Sea News and WeatherSalish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.comBlogger1917125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-41536786782609989702019-05-24T07:39:00.000-07:002019-05-24T07:39:12.050-07:005/24 Pika, Delta port, oil spill drill, bitumen limit, Navy tests. BC drought, methane conversion, Kimberly-Clark, Pomeroy Park<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BMmNdD5oY3k/XOgB9-r7SXI/AAAAAAAAJoE/DKOzPuK2muQ6d9MxC279MuoIhE3JNP2HACLcBGAs/s1600/pika.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="399" height="259" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BMmNdD5oY3k/XOgB9-r7SXI/AAAAAAAAJoE/DKOzPuK2muQ6d9MxC279MuoIhE3JNP2HACLcBGAs/s320/pika.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American pika [WikiMedia]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>American pika</b> <i>Ochotona princeps</i><br />The American pika, known in the 19th century as the "little chief hare," is found in the mountains of western North America from central British Columbia and Alberta in Canada to the US states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California and New Mexico.They live in boulder fields at or above the tree line. They are herbivorous, smaller relatives of rabbits and hares. (Wikipedia)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/delta-terminal-expansion-environmental-impact-1.5146409">Whales vs. trade: Environmentalists push back against proposed port terminal in Delta </a></b><br />A proposed new marine container terminal in Delta, B.C., is facing pushback from environmentalists who believe the project will threaten whales and the salmon they depend on for survival. The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project would create 108 hectares of new industrial land and build a new terminal with up to three berths for container ships. According to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the project will generate 1,500 terminal jobs. An independent federal review panel is currently considering arguments from industry and environmentalists. Margot Venton, a lawyer with Ecojustice, an environmental law firm fighting the case on behalf of environmental groups, said "the relationship between salmon and whales is hitting a critical point" and the project will exacerbate the problems already facing killer whales in the Salish Sea. Bridgette Watson reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cheknews.ca/canadian-u-s-coast-guards-practice-working-together-in-case-of-cross-border-oil-spill-563215/">Canadian, U.S Coast Guards practice working together in case of cross border oil spill </a></b><br />Adequate oil spill response is paramount to maintain the health of the oceans. That’s why both the U.S and Canadian Coast guard, along with their spill response partners, were practising their joint response during a two-day simulated drill. They started in Port Angeles on Wednesday and then on Thursday, they were in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.... More than 5,000 deep sea vessels travel through the Salish Sea in designated shipping lanes each year on both sides of the border. Luisa Alvarez reports. (CHEK)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/court-to-rule-if-b-c-can-limit-bitumen-in-key-case-for-trans-mountain-pipeline">Trans Mountain: court to rule if B.C. can limit bitumen </a></b><br />A British Columbia court is set to rule Friday whether the province can restrict shipments of diluted bitumen through its borders, in what will be a crucial decision for the future of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The province filed a reference question to the B.C. Court of Appeal that asked whether it had the constitutional authority to create a permitting regime for companies that want to increase their flow of oilsands crude. B.C. argued the law is aimed at protecting its lands, rivers and lakes from hazardous substances, but Alberta and the federal government have said the goal is to delay or block the pipeline expansion. Laura Kane reports. (National)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/navy-plans-testing-of-futuristic-technology-sonar-harm-to-mammals-in-pacific-northwest/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">Thousands of marine animals at risk in Pacific Northwest from Navy tech tests, documents show </a></b><br />The Navy’s latest testing and training proposal in the Northwest reveals the secretive military branch’s futuristic technology and planned war-game maneuvers. It also outlines how Navy sonar and explosives could harm marine animals. The nearly 1,800-page document, two volumes of Navy bureaucratese, details proposals to test the Navy’s rail-gun system (it can fire projectiles at up to seven times the speed of sound), pilot mine-detecting underwater drones and fly its airborne surveillance drone at 50,000 feet. Evan Bush reports. (Seattle Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/spring-rain-needed-in-b-c-as-,ow-snowpack-and-drought-readings-raise-concern">Drought: low snowpack, dry weather a concern across B.C., prairies </a></b><br />Drought forecasts from Agriculture Canada show most of British Columbia is abnormally dry or enduring some level of drought, similar to dry conditions that are being experienced across a swath of Western Canada. Snowpack levels in B.C. recorded on May 15 were similar to those in 2015 and 2016 and the B.C. River Forecast Centre says they are among the lowest in the last 40 years. It also says diminished snowpacks and early snow melt due to a warm spring increase the likelihood of low flows in rivers and streams across the province this summer. (Canadian Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://news.stanford.edu/press-releases/2019/05/20/counterintuitive-climate-solution/">Stanford researchers outline vision for profitable climate change solution </a></b><br />A relatively simple process could help turn the tide of climate change while also turning a healthy profit. That’s one of the hopeful visions outlined in a new Stanford-led paper that highlights a seemingly counterintuitive solution: converting one greenhouse gas into another.<br />A conceptual drawing of an industrial array for converting methane (CH4) to carbon dioxide (CO2) using catalytic materials called zeolites (CUII and FEIV). The study, published in Nature Sustainability on May 20, describes a potential process for converting the extremely potent greenhouse gas methane into carbon dioxide, which is a much less potent driver of global warming. The idea of intentionally releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere may seem surprising, but the authors argue that swapping methane for carbon dioxide is a significant net benefit for the climate. Rob Jordan reports. (Stanford News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/maritime-companies-say-theyre-buying-vacant-kimberly-clark-mill-site/">Port questions two companies’ deal to buy Kimberly-Clark site&nbsp; </a></b><br />Two maritime companies have announced a deal to buy most of Kimberly-Clark’s former mill property, even as the Port of Everett considers condemning the land for public use. Representatives for Pacific Stevedoring and Glacier Fish Co. said Thursday they plan to buy 58 acres of the waterfront site for headquarters and operations. A cold storage warehouse, facilities to prepare food for resale, and office space would bring as many as 1,200 jobs to the waterfront, Pacific Stevedoring owner Andrew Murphy and Glacier President Jim Johnson said. Plans also include a working wharf. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2019/05/23/no-contact-advisory-issued-pomeroy-park-beach/1213241001/">No-contact advisory issued for Pomeroy Park beach </a></b><br />A popular Puget Sound swimming beach is off limits ahead of the holiday weekend because of high levels of bacteria in the water. The Kitsap Public Health District issued a no-contact advisory on Thursday for Pomeroy Park swimming beach in Manchester because of high levels of a bacteria called <i>Enterococci</i>, according to a press release... <i>Enterococci </i>bacteria indicate the presence of fecal pollution in the water, according to the health district, but specific sources of such pollution have not yet been identified. (Kitsap Sun)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your weekend tug weather--<br /></b>West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;250 AM PDT Fri May 24 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: red;"><br />SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 8 ft &nbsp;at 9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming S 5 to 15 kt after &nbsp;midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 9 ft at 10 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less in the afternoon. &nbsp;W swell 10 ft at 11 seconds subsiding to 7 ft at 10 seconds in &nbsp;the afternoon. A chance of showers in the afternoon.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT NIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt becoming 5 to 15 kt after midnight. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 10 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SUN</span></strong>&nbsp;NW wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at &nbsp;9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SUN NIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />MON</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 4 ft. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-89318230909099953272019-05-23T07:36:00.000-07:002019-05-23T07:36:32.769-07:005/23 Kelp poacher, whale watch, oil lovers, coast guard ships, Tacoma LNG, Leque Is<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xUb2-9lH0ho/XOav2Sc9KAI/AAAAAAAAJn4/kANkbhV0PeQH9AM6RI8AsngIB17ypizOACLcBGAs/s1600/kelp%2Bpoacher_ClintonBauder.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="372" height="209" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xUb2-9lH0ho/XOav2Sc9KAI/AAAAAAAAJn4/kANkbhV0PeQH9AM6RI8AsngIB17ypizOACLcBGAs/s320/kelp%2Bpoacher_ClintonBauder.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juvenile kelp poacher [Clinton Bauder]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Kelp poacher</b> <i>Agonomalus mozinoi </i><br />The kelp poacher is a fish in the family <i>Agonidae</i> (poachers). It was described by Norman Joseph Wilimovsky and Donald Edward Wilson in 1979, originally under the genus <i>Hypsagonus</i>. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from northern British Columbia, Canada to central California, USA, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (Wikipedia)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/battle-over-orca-whale-watch-restrictions-heats-up-in-san-juan-county/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">Battle over orca whale-watch restrictions heats up in San Juan County </a></b><br />An initiative has been filed to increase the distance whale-watch boats must keep from endangered southern-resident orcas — followed immediately by a lawsuit earlier this week from several whale-watch companies to keep the measure off the ballot. The initiative is to voters in San Juan County, and aimed for the November ballot to impose a new restriction on whale-watch boats and other vessels effective Jan. 1. The initiative would create a 650-yard vessel-free protected area around endangered southern-resident orcas while the whales are in San Juan County waters, with exemptions for law enforcement, research and treaty fishing boats. Backers have until July 8 to get the 1,635 signatures they need to get on the ballot. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/21/canadas-oil-loving-conservatives-bet-climate-change-indifference/?utm_term=.5f7c26e2cbd1">Canada’s oil-loving Conservatives bet on climate change indifference </a></b><br />On the issue of climate change, Canada’s Conservatives comprise three factions of skeptics. First are those who dismiss all talk of global warming as mere left-wing alarmism, and therefore something that barely matters at all. Second are those willing to concede the issue matters in some abstract sense but who believe “addressing” it will extract too high a cost on Canada’s economy. Third are those who think it’s worth addressing but are skeptical the policies offered by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal administration in particular will work.&nbsp; J.J. McCullough reports. (Washington Post) <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-coast-guard-ships-building-trudeau-1.5144903">Canada to spend $15.7B on new coast guard ships, Trudeau says </a></b><br />Canada plans to build up to 18 new coast guard ships at a cost of $15.7 billion in an effort to renew Canada's Coast Guard fleet,&nbsp; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday. Up to 16 of the ships will be constructed in a fleet renewal project anchored in Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards. Two others — Arctic patrol ships that will be modified for the Canadian Coast Guard — will be built at Irving Shipyards in Nova Scotia. Peter Zimonjic and Andrew Davidson report. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.kiro7.com/news/south-sound-news/groups-to-push-back-against-plans-for-tacoma-gas-plant/951458279">Groups to push back against plans for Tacoma gas plant </a></b><br />The fight over fracking is coming to Olympia Wednesday when the public plans to push back against plans for a gas plant in Tacoma. Governor Inslee used to support the plant, but he announced earlier this month that he would oppose the liquefied natural gas plant, and he's apparently not alone in the fight. The Puget Sound Energy “listening session” on the plant is slated for 4:30 p.m., and groups such as the Sierra Club are calling on the public to rally and pack the room to voice opposition to the 8-million-gallon storage plant. (KIRO) See also: <b><a href="https://www.knkx.org/post/deceptive-solution-or-bridge-fuel-fight-over-half-built-lng-project-continues-tacoma">'Deceptive solution' or bridge fuel? Fight over half-built LNG project continues in Tacoma.&nbsp;</a></b> Bellamy Pailthorp and Kari Plog report. (KNKX)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/restoration-work-to-continue-on-leque-island/article_4297b1b3-2cb7-5385-9da9-825912d5691e.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Restoration work to continue on Leque Island </a></b><br />The state Department of Fish &amp; Wildlife is preparing to begin the second phase of restoration work this summer at its Leque Island property near Stanwood. The island sits between Skagit Bay and Port Susan along a side channel of the Stillaguamish River. Fish &amp; Wildlife is working on a restoration project to reopen estuary habitat, where freshwater and saltwater mix. The first phase of the work was completed in the fall of 2017. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /><br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--<br /></b>West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;300 AM PDT Thu May 23 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;Light wind becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind &nbsp;waves less than 1 ft becoming 2 ft or less in the afternoon. W &nbsp;swell 7 ft at 9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW after midnight. Wind &nbsp;waves 2 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 9 seconds building to 8 ft at &nbsp;9 seconds after midnight. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-31390829127846747932019-05-22T06:38:00.000-07:002019-05-22T06:38:03.312-07:005/22 Saving bees, WA budget, feeding orcas, BC gas, reef-net fishing<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TVnq1TyuMWo/XOVQiX689bI/AAAAAAAAJns/GzQVHq1vz8c4qLIe5b-xKapJMnMW5PaugCLcBGAs/s1600/Bee_LaurieMacBride.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="406" height="215" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TVnq1TyuMWo/XOVQiX689bI/AAAAAAAAJns/GzQVHq1vz8c4qLIe5b-xKapJMnMW5PaugCLcBGAs/s320/Bee_LaurieMacBride.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bee in action [Laurie MacBride]</td></tr></tbody></table><b><a href="https://eyeonenvironment.com/2019/05/20/taking-action-for-bees/">Taking Action for Bees </a></b><br />Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Today, May 20, is World Bee Day, which is why I’m sharing an image of some of these industrious pollinators hard at work in my garden. The flower is Papaver somniferum, a poppy species which self-sows freely each summer, thanks to the effort of the many bees that visit our garden throughout the growing season. World Bee Day was first proposed on the international stage by Slovenia, and after three years of work by that nation and the world’s beekeepers, it was proclaimed unanimously by the United Nations – giving bees and other pollinators the recognition they deserve. You can learn more about the initiative <a href="https://worldbeeday.org/en/about/the-project.html">here</a> ...."<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.knkx.org/post/inslee-signs-524-billion-budget-decried-republicans">Inslee signs $52.4 billion budget decried by Republicans&nbsp; </a></b><br />Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday signed into law a $52.4 billion, two-year state budget that he said "rises to the needs of our time," but that minority Republicans quickly criticized as a "tax-and-spend home run."&nbsp; To help fund the budget, Inslee also put his signature to a tax package worth at least $830 million over the next two years. It will raise taxes on big banks and other businesses, as well as end point-of-sale tax-free shopping in Washington for Oregon residents. The tax and spending bills were among dozens of pieces of legislation Inslee signed Tuesday during a final round of bill signing ceremonies at the Capitol following the 2019 legislative session. Austin Jenkins reports. (NW News Network) See also: <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/inslee-signs-budget-tax-bills-and-orders-175m-more-to-help-salmon/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">Inslee signs budget, tax bills and orders $175M more to help salmon&nbsp;</a></b> Gov. Jay Inslee, determined to put more money toward helping salmon survival, on Tuesday directed the state to boost funding for court-ordered culvert repairs by $175 million over the next two years. Joseph O'Sullivan reports. (Seattle Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://q13fox.com/2019/05/21/lummi-nation-wants-to-feed-endangered-southern-resident-orcas/">Lummi Nation wants to feed endangered southern resident orcas </a></b><br />Following news that two more southern resident orcas are struggling, one Washington tribe is calling on the federal government to help physically feed them. Lummi Nation calls the southern resident orcas qwe 'lhol mechen, which means our relatives under the water. They say they have a sacred obligation to take care of them and feed them like they would any other member of their family. Simone Del Rosario reports. (KCPQ)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/regulator-investigating-high-gas-prices-in-b-c-has-power-to-examine-gouging-1.5144295">Regulator investigating high gas prices in B.C. has power to examine gouging </a></b><br />British Columbia's independent energy regulator will have the power to call oil company representatives as witnesses into an investigation of high gasoline prices in the province. Premier John Horgan has tasked the B.C. Utilities Commission to examine the market factors that affect wholesale and retail gas prices, and he wants a report by Aug. 30. Gas prices hovering around $1.70 per litre in the Metro Vancouver area have been the highest in Canada for several months. (Canadian Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/using-food-to-strengthen-indigenous-culture-and-resist-colonization-1.5126272/reviving-an-outlawed-fishery-the-backbone-of-our-nation-1.5126278">Reviving an outlawed fishery: 'the backbone of our Nation' </a></b><br />It was daybreak on a clear summer day. Nick Claxton stood at the boat launch with other members of the WSÁNEĆ Nation. They were on Pender Island, BC, at a W̱SÁNEĆ hereditary fishing location. The winds were calm, recalled Claxton. "A perfect day for fishing." Their ocean-going canoes were setting out onto the Salish Sea. They were ready to drop a full-size reef net, for the first time in a century. Claxton, who is from the Tsawout Band and is an assistant professor at the University of Victoria, had been thinking about this moment for almost a decade. Zoe Tennant reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;244 AM PDT Wed May 22 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves &nbsp;1 ft or less. W swell 8 ft at 11 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW to 10 kt after midnight. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 7 ft at 9 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-5804930559067465482019-05-21T07:45:00.001-07:002019-05-21T07:45:26.048-07:005/21 Buttercup, drought, sea rise, EPA math, Mukilteo ferry dock, Manke Lumber <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i5ZS_I_OrrE/XOQO7DQDrZI/AAAAAAAAJng/OvkXWxtkozkepe32q1Sy09rLSVSbi5NcACLcBGAs/s1600/buttercup.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="397" height="238" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i5ZS_I_OrrE/XOQO7DQDrZI/AAAAAAAAJng/OvkXWxtkozkepe32q1Sy09rLSVSbi5NcACLcBGAs/s320/buttercup.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buttercup</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Creeping buttercup</b> <i>Ranunculus repens</i><br />The creeping buttercup, is a flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe, Asia and northwestern Africa. It is also called creeping crowfoot and (along with restharrow) sitfast. Like most buttercups, Ranunculus repens is poisonous, although when dried with hay these poisons are lost. The taste of buttercups is acrid, so cattle avoid eating them. The plants then take advantage of the cropped ground around it to spread their stolons. (Wikipedia)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/gov-inslee-declares-drought-for-about-half-of-washington-state/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">Low snowpack, hot spring lead to drought declaration for nearly half of Washington state&nbsp; </a></b><br />Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared drought Monday for nearly half of Washington watersheds, as the mountain snowpack that churns through hydropower dams, irrigates our state’s orchards and provides for fish continues to dwindle well below normal. Twenty days into May, “our statewide snowpack is the fourth-lowest it’s been over the past 30 years,” said Jeff Marti, the drought coordinator for the Washington Department of Ecology. Winter left many areas of the state with lower-than-normal snowpack. A hot, dry spring quickly zapped much of the snow that did accumulate. Evan Bush reports. (Seattle Times) See also: <b><a href="https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/weather-news/article230622874.html">Nooksack expected to be 25 percent below average. Here’s how the state is responding&nbsp;</a></b> A total of 24 Washington river watersheds — including the Nooksack, the Upper Skagit, and the Lower Skagit-Samish — were included in the order, which could spell trouble for farmers and residential users as well as the salmon that require a constant supply of cold, clear water through summer.&nbsp; Robert Mittendorf reports. (Bellingham Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48337629">Rise in global sea levels could have 'profound consequences' </a></b><br />Scientists believe that global sea levels could rise far more than predicted, due to accelerating melting in Greenland and Antarctica. The long-held view has been that the world's seas would rise by a maximum of just under a metre by 2100. This new study, based on expert opinions, projects that the real level may be around double that figure. This could lead to the displacement of hundreds of millions of people, the authors say.&nbsp; Matt McGrath reports. (BBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/climate/epa-air-pollution-deaths.html">E.P.A. Plans to Get Thousands of Deaths Off the Books by Changing Its Math </a></b><br />The Environmental Protection Agency plans to change the way it calculates the health risks of air pollution, a shift that would make it easier to roll back a key climate change rule because it would result in far fewer predicted deaths from pollution, according to five people with knowledge of the agency’s plans. The E.P.A. had originally forecast that eliminating the Obama-era rule, the Clean Power Plan, and replacing it with a new measure would have resulted in an additional 1,400 premature deaths per year. The new analytical model would significantly reduce that number and would most likely be used by the Trump administration to defend further rollbacks of air pollution rules if it is formally adopted. Lisa Friedman reports. (NYTimes) <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/its-a-go-ferries-awards-26-4-million-for-marine-contract/">It’s a go! Ferries awards $26.4 million for marine contract&nbsp;</a></b> <br />The new Mukilteo ferry terminal is finally getting its feet wet. Washington State Ferries on Monday awarded a $26.4 million contract to Seattle-based Manson Construction to build the marine structures for the new terminal. These include the vehicle transfer bridge, overhead pedestrian walkway and other components. It also covers demolishing the old terminal and nearby fishing pier, and building a new fishing pier closer to the ferry action. Andrea Brown reports. (Everett Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article230615519.html#storylink=cpy">A lumber company accused of polluting a Tacoma waterway has agreed to settle, EPA says </a></b><br />Manke Lumber has agreed to settle allegations it violated the Clean Water Act at its Tacoma Tideflats facility, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday. Manke will pay a $320,000 penalty and build a treatment system to fix water quality violations, the EPA said. The company will also invest in a project that will designate 38 acres of undeveloped land for conservation and recreation in Mason County. That includes 1,500 feet of Goldsborough Creek, 580 feet of a tributary and a 20-acre riparian corridor. Alexis Krell reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b> <br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;241 AM PDT Tue May 21 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: red;"><br />SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PDT TODAY THROUGH</span></strong><strong><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;THIS EVENING</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon. &nbsp;Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the afternoon. &nbsp;SW swell 6 ft at 12 seconds building to W 10 ft at 14 seconds in &nbsp;the afternoon.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW 5 to 15 kt after &nbsp;midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after &nbsp;midnight. W swell 9 ft at 12 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-41988514302931320542019-05-20T06:42:00.001-07:002019-05-20T06:42:44.536-07:005/20 Mount St. Helens, J17, underwater noise, grey whales, cetacean ban, Nooksack dam, Sound funding, Skagit dam, enviro rules, Hood Canal, ghost nets, gas war<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-trqqMfxVk4c/XOKunjz3YOI/AAAAAAAAJnU/11WXLGaEu_YpPNrGs2hLi4O1WZlFQXpKgCLcBGAs/s1600/MtStHelens.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="487" height="203" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-trqqMfxVk4c/XOKunjz3YOI/AAAAAAAAJnU/11WXLGaEu_YpPNrGs2hLi4O1WZlFQXpKgCLcBGAs/s320/MtStHelens.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mount St. Helens [USGS/KING]</td></tr></tbody></table><b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/mount-st-helens-remembering-the-deadliest-us-eruption-39-years-later/281-440644176">Mount St. Helens: Remembering the deadliest U.S. eruption 39 years later </a></b><br />The deadliest volcanic eruption in U.S. history happened in Washington state on May 18, 1980 when Mount St. Helens blew her top. (USA Today/KING)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/southern-resident-orca-matriarch-j17-continues-to-decline-new-photos-show/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">Southern resident orca matriarch J17 continues to decline, new photos show&nbsp; </a></b><br />Concern is heightened for the survival of J17, an endangered southern resident orca who is continuing to decline, new photos show. Researcher John Durban, of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in his spring survey of the southern residents detected further emaciation in J17 since his last survey in fall 2018. The survey was conducted in conjunction with Sealife Response, Rehabilitation and Research. The whale, a matriarch in her clan, now has a pronounced “peanut head.” The condition indicates severe loss of body fat, such that the whale’s neck shows. Her daughter, J53, also has deteriorated since last fall, according to the body condition survey, which is done non-invasively, by drone photography. Lynda Makes reports. (Seattle Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://projects.seattletimes.com/2019/hostile-waters-orcas-noise/">Hostile Waters,Part 4: How our noise is hurting orcas’ search for salmon </a></b><br />Booming ships, boats and other traffic interfere with orcas' search for food. Calls and echolocation clicks are drowned out, making all their other problems worse. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/grey-whale-deaths-west-coast-arctic-warming-1.5140541">Grey whale deaths on West Coast linked to warmer Arctic waters </a></b><br />Dozens of grey whales have been found dead along the West Coast in recent weeks and some scientists believe the cause lies in the heated-up Arctic waters off Alaska. Fifty-eight grey whales have been found stranded and dead so far this year in sites stretching from California to Alaska, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The latest discovery announced on Wednesday by NOAA was a dead grey whale in Turnagain Arm, a narrow glacier-fed channel off Anchorage where grey whales rarely venture. (Reuters/CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-aquarium-sues-city-park-board-over-cetacean-ban-1.5141737">Vancouver Aquarium sues city, park board over cetacean ban </a></b><br />The Vancouver Aquarium is suing the city of Vancouver and the Vancouver Park Board over the 2017 cetacean ban, claiming it resulted in millions of dollars in lost revenue, and constituted a breach of contract. In May 2017, the Vancouver Park Board voted to amend a bylaw that would ban bringing cetaceans into city parks, and prohibit shows and performances involving cetaceans. The board also voted to ban the keeping of cetaceans in city parks, with the exception of cetaceans already present in the aquarium. Michelle Ghoussoub reports.(CBC)<br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article230091034.html">‘Removing the Middle Fork Nooksack dam is one of the most important salmon restoration projects’ </a></b><br />A small dam that channels Nooksack River water into Lake Whatcom will be removed next year in an effort to help endangered salmon and, by extension, southern resident killer whales, proponents said. The city of Bellingham’s dam has been diverting water from the Nooksack’s Middle Fork since 1962 to supplement its main source of water, which is Lake Whatcom — the drinking water source for nearly 100,000 residents of Bellingham and Whatcom County. The diversion is intermittent and occurs primarily during winter and spring, the city of Bellingham said on the project website. Located about 20 miles east of Bellingham, the dam will be history in 2020. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)<br /><br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2019/05/17/lawmakers-hopeful-puget-sound-funding-congress/3717226002/">Lawmakers hopeful for Puget Sound funding from Congress </a></b><br />Optimism, as related to a possible increase in funding for Puget Sound recovery, permeated discussions last week, when 80 officials from the region met with lawmakers in the nation’s capitol. “It’s the first time in several years that we’ve actually been in a position to direct more money to Puget Sound programs,” said U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, during one of many “Puget Sound Day on the Hill” meetings. With Democrats now in control of the House, they can draft a budget that fits their priorities for a host of projects — from civil rights legislation to funding for climate change. Of course, the challenge will be to get their issues through the Senate. Chris Dunagan reports. (Puget Sound Institute)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/opposition-grows-for-proposed-mining-in-skagit-river-headwaters/article_8dbe395b-bfd3-5e87-b21e-c99b57750293.html">Opposition grows for proposed mining in Skagit River headwaters&nbsp; </a></b><br />A Canadian company has proposed exploratory mining for gold and copper in the headwaters of the Skagit River in British Columbia. Some officials, tribes and conservation groups on both sides of the border say the proposal threatens the environment of the Skagit River watershed and that it violates an agreement — the High Ross Treaty — that has been in place between the United States and Canada for 35 years. In the latest show of opposition, a letter was sent Thursday to an official in British Columbia’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. The letter was signed by officials and nonprofits. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/states-arent-waiting-for-the-trump-administration-on-environmental-protections/2019/05/19/5dc853fc-7722-11e9-b3f5-5673edf2d127_story.html">States aren’t waiting for the Trump administration on environmental protections </a></b><br />More than a dozen states are moving to strengthen environmental protections to combat a range of issues from climate change to water pollution, opening a widening rift between stringent state policies and the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda.... The growing patchwork of regulations is creating uncertainty for American businesses as state lawmakers vie to change rules that, in past administrations, were more likely to be set at the federal level. Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin report. (Washington Post)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2019/05/17/hood-canal-preservation-gets-another-bump-legislature/3697873002/">Hood Canal preservation gets another bump from Legislature </a></b><br />Thousands of pristine acres of timberland along Hood Canal have been earmarked for preservation, thanks to $6.3 million from the Legislature.&nbsp; The Dabob Bay natural area's latest expansion spreads some 4,000 acres east and south onto the Toandos Peninsula. The Legislature's purchase guarantees 900 of those acres will be transferred out of the state Department of Natural Resources' timber trust and into conservation. The state will begin to pursue other properties within the acreage, which spans from Dabob to Thorndyke Creek, according to Peter Bahls, director of the Northwest Watershed Institute that has fought to preserve the area since 2002. Josh Farley reports. (Kitsap Sun)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2019/05/18/ghost-net-busters-are-entering-a-new-era-of-hunting-and-removal/">Ghost-net busters are entering a new era of hunting and removal&nbsp; </a></b><br />Chris Dunagan in <i>Watching Our Water Ways</i> writes: "My mind is unable to grasp, in any meaningful way, how much death and destruction was caused by fishing nets that were lost and abandoned through the years. Nearly 6,000 of these so-called “ghost nets” have been pulled from the waters of Puget Sound over the past 17 years. Until removed, they keep on catching fish, crabs and many more animals to one degree or another...." <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/rope-a-dope-environmentalists-say-alberta-war-room-threat-wont-distract-them">Environmentalists say Alberta government war room threat “amateur hour”&nbsp; </a></b><br />Environmental groups targeted by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney are shrugging off the new government’s promised $30-million “war room” to fight criticisms of the province’s energy industry. “The war room makes for good theatre, but the people who follow this closely are going to look at this as amateur hour,” said Keith Stewart of Greenpeace. Bob Weber reports. (National Post)<br /><br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--<br /></b>West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;250 AM PDT Mon May 20 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves &nbsp;1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 11 seconds. A chance of showers.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;NW wind 5 to 15 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind &nbsp;waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 11 seconds. A chance of &nbsp;showers. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-20674816877778053842019-05-17T07:53:00.000-07:002019-05-17T07:53:03.704-07:005/17 Priest Point Park, plankton,Skagit water, Salish Sea<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zKHhqK9xInQ/XN7KUE0y6bI/AAAAAAAAJm8/5FPz2C2ZBwkv8oll3tdYnV_DSuP17S4hwCLcBGAs/s1600/PriestPointPk_EllisCove_ToriSloane.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="383" height="255" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zKHhqK9xInQ/XN7KUE0y6bI/AAAAAAAAJm8/5FPz2C2ZBwkv8oll3tdYnV_DSuP17S4hwCLcBGAs/s320/PriestPointPk_EllisCove_ToriSloane.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellis Cove, Priest Point Park [Tori Sloane]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Priest Point Park</b><br />Priest Point Park is a 314-acre regional nature park on Budd Inlet in Olympia. The land upon which Priest Point Park sits has been used for generations by the Indigenous peoples of our region, which include the Squaxin, Nisqually, Quinault, Puyallup, Chehalis, Suquamish, and Duwamish. Priest Point Park is named for a small group of Catholic missionaries, the Oblate Fathers, who came to the area in 1848. They cleared the land, planted a large garden, built a chapel, and established the St. Joseph d’Olympia mission. The Squaxin, Nisqually, Puyallup, and Snoqualmie tribes used the mission as a trading center during this time. (City of Olympia) Priest Point, a rocky point at the northern entrance to the Snohomish River, was called Schuh-tlahks, meaning "stony nose," by the Indians. The present name refers to a Catholic mission established on the site in 1959. (Washington State Place Names)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://patch.com/washington/seattle/tomato-soup-plankton-blooms-early-puget-sound">Tiny Plankton, Big Threat To Puget Sound Food Chain </a></b><br />A tomato soup-colored plankton bloom going on now in Puget Sound will have repercussions reaching up to salmon and orcas, ecologists say. Neal McNamara reports. (Patch)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/seattle-city-light-agrees-to-provide-water-to-mitigate-wells/article_f9bf1c6c-e083-5a6d-9b02-ecf90dbd21a2.html">Seattle City Light agrees to provide water to mitigate wells </a></b><br />An agreement between Seattle City Light and the state Department of Ecology will remove legal uncertainty over water use for hundreds of homes in portions of Skagit and Snohomish counties. The electric utility and state agency announced the agreement this week. Through the agreement, Ecology is purchasing some of Seattle City Light’s senior water rights, Ecology Water Resources Program Regional Supervisor Rita Berns said. Seattle City Light will then continuously release 0.5 cubic feet of water per second from Gorge Dam — the lowest of three hydroelectric dams on the Skagit River — specifically to offset the impact on the river by the use of area wells. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/where-earth-salish-sea">Where On Earth Is the Salish Sea? </a></b><br />Less than half of the people in Washington and British Columbia have heard of the Salish Sea, even though they live alongside it. That’s according to a <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b071ddea2772cebc1662831/t/5cdd9d880f166500012e3897/1558027686645/salish-sea-survey.pdf">recent report</a>&nbsp; from The SeaDoc Society, a program of the University of California, Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine, and Oregon State University. The study reveals that only 5 percent of people in Washington and 14 percent of British Columbians can identify the Salish Sea—the marine ecosystem that spans the United States-Canada border and includes both Seattle and Vancouver. Ustin Cox reports. (UC Davis)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your weekend tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;247 AM PDT Fri May 17 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SW 5 to 15 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft at 12 seconds. A &nbsp;chance of showers in the morning then a slight chance of showers &nbsp;in the afternoon.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell &nbsp;4 ft at 12 seconds. A chance of showers.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT</span></strong>&nbsp;E wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 5 ft &nbsp;at 11 seconds building to 7 ft at 14 seconds in the afternoon. A &nbsp;chance of showers.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT NIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind 15 to 20 kt becoming E to 10 kt after &nbsp;midnight. Wind waves 2 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after &nbsp;midnight. W swell 8 ft at 13 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SUN</span></strong>&nbsp;NE wind to 10 kt becoming SW in the afternoon. Wind waves &nbsp;1 ft or less. W swell 7 ft at 12 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-5120980480087995082019-05-16T07:25:00.001-07:002019-05-16T07:25:35.944-07:005/16 Goby, tanker ban, Roberts Bank, living harbor, oil rig reserves, gas prices, Tramp Harbor, 'nudges<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eou9nVQHo3o/XN1yylFFCKI/AAAAAAAAJmw/VcmvdL7aRpI9_bzIV1_pNj-lr9YZru6PACLcBGAs/s1600/BlackeyeGoby_WhatsThatFish.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="403" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eou9nVQHo3o/XN1yylFFCKI/AAAAAAAAJmw/VcmvdL7aRpI9_bzIV1_pNj-lr9YZru6PACLcBGAs/s320/BlackeyeGoby_WhatsThatFish.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackeye goby [Scott Gilmore]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Blackeye Goby </b><i>Rhinogobiops nicholsii</i><br />Found in harems on sandy bottoms close to rocks and holes for shelter, in shallow to deep areas of the reefs. They feed on crustaceans and invertebrates. True Gobies are found in oceans and some rivers and lakes, usually in burrows or holes and can be territorial. They are able to rapidly change colour when socialising or feel threatened. (What's That Fish)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/senators-defeat-ottawas-oil-tanker-ban-bill-in-rare-move-putting-legislation-on-life-support">Senators defeat Ottawa’s oil tanker ban bill in rare move, putting legislation on life suppor </a></b><br />In a rare legislative move on Wednesday, the Senate transport committee voted to defeat the Liberal government’s moratorium on oil tankers in northern B.C., putting the controversial bill on life support after years of political wrangling. A vote against the bill by Independent Sen. Paula Simons, along with the five other Conservative senators on the committee, swayed a final decision in favour of recommending that the senate nix Bill C-48, which effectively bars any oil tankers from entering northern B.C. waters. The move does not immediately kill the oil tanker moratorium, but a vote by the senate to adopt the committee recommendations would stop the legislation in its tracks. A vote on the report is expected in coming days. Jesse Snyder reports. (National Post)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://biv.com/article/2019/05/public-environmental-assessment-hearings-underway-proposed-roberts-bank-container">Public environmental assessment hearings underway on proposed Roberts Bank container terminal </a></b><br />The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has kicked off the public hearing process on the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's proposed $2 billion to $3 billion Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project. The hearings, which started Tuesday in Tsawwassen with motions on procedural matters, are scheduled to last until June 24 in communities like Delta, Vancouver, Victoria, Duncan and Port Renfrew. General hearings in Tsawwassen began on Wednesday and will last until Saturday.... Brad Armstrong, the lawyer representing the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, reiterated that the port authority does not project the number of vessels to increase from the new terminal, citing an increase in vessel size that will soak up the extra capacity of containers at Terminal 2: "The number of vessels should stay relatively the same." Opponents were less optimistic, noting Roberts Bank's growth of about 3.5% in the last decade has been largely built on shipping U.S. containers, contradicting the port's mandate as a catalyst for the Canadian economy. Other opponents noted that a project like Terminal 2 that would install a large man-made island at the mouth of the Fraser River - "the crucible of the Fraser estuary" - should receive the widest-possible spectrum of review possible, including options at DP World's Fairview terminal in Prince Rupert. Chuck Chiang reports. (Business in Vancouver) See also: <b><a href="https://www.joc.com/port-news/international-ports/port-prince-rupert/prince-rupert-port-quadruple-capacity_20190515.html">Prince Rupert port plans to quadruple capacity&nbsp;</a></b> The port of Prince Rupert plans to double its container capacity by 2020 and ultimately quadruple its capacity, sending a bold message as fellow British Columbia port Vancouver grapples with its own plan to inject much-needed handling capacity into its terminals. Bill Mongelluzzo reports. (JOC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/fish-below-your-feet-and-other-solutions-for-a-living-harbor/">Fish Below Your Feet and Other Solutions for a Living Harbor </a></b><br />In Seattle, Singapore, and other waterfront cities around the world, engineers are creating life-enhancing designs to encourage marine biodiversity. Tyee Bridge reports. (Hakai Magazine)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://phys.org/news/2019-05-oil-rigs-california-coast-artificial.html">Retired oil rigs off the California coast could find new lives as artificial reefs </a></b><br />Offshore oil and gas drilling has been a contentious issue in California for 50 years, ever since a rig ruptured and spilled 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude oil off Santa Barbara in 1969. Today it's spurring a new debate: whether to completely dismantle 27 oil and gas platforms scattered along the southern California coast as they end their working lives, or convert the underwater sections into permanent artificial reefs for marine life. (Phys.org)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-neb-gas-prices-explainer-1.5137302">No simple answers for high B.C. gas prices or impact of pipeline, NEB says </a></b><br />There's no easy explanation for why B.C.'s gas prices are so much higher than the rest of Canada, or what will happen to them if the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion goes ahead, according to the National Energy Board's chief economist. The NEB released a <a href="https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/mrkt/snpsht/2019/05-03gslnprcng-eng.html">snapshot of the issue</a> Wednesday, breaking down the elements that have driven up the price at the pumps in B.C. "It's a combination of numerous factors," chief economist Jean-Denis Charlebois told CBC. "One factor is that we're approaching the summer driving season. This means demand is increasing." Bethany Lindsay reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/county-considers-island-shellfish-operation-proposal/">County considers island shellfish operation proposal </a></b><br />Some islanders contend that Tramp Harbor is not a suitable location to operate a proposed commercial shellfish enterprise because the area is both beloved for its natural beauty and recognized as an important natural habitat. An application for the project, at 6 acres in size, was filed in November by island produce farmer Nick Provo and is still under review by the Department Of Local Services Permitting Division as part of the SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) process. The bid will need further appraisal from the county before a decision is made to issue a permit and allow the development to proceed. Paul Rowley reports. But before that happens, county officials will need to determine if further action will be required to mitigate potential issues at the location. (Vashon Beachcomber)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2019/may/green-energy-nudges.html">Green Energy Nudges Come With a Hidden Cost </a></b><br />All across the United States, many households receive energy bills comparing their use to that of similar neighbors to remind them to use less energy. At most companies, employees are automatically enrolled in 401(k) plans unless they choose to opt-out, helping employees easily save for retirement. Such policies aim to "nudge" people toward making better choices, both for their future selves and for others. Nudges like these have become popular among policymakers, because they are virtually costless to implement. However, a new study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon, Fordham and Harvard universities finds that these nudges have an unexplored cost: they can decrease support for policies with far greater impact. "Although nudges can effectively change behavior, most have too small an impact to address societal problems on their own," said David Hagmann, a recent graduate of CMU's Department of Social and Decision Sciences, and now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. "It appears that many people view them as substitutes for economic policies like a carbon tax or cap-and-trade scheme, instead of the complements they were always intended to be." (Carnegie Mellon University)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;250 AM PDT Thu May 16 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;E wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves &nbsp;2 ft or less. SW swell 4 ft at 14 seconds. A slight chance of &nbsp;showers in the morning then a chance of showers in the afternoon.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt after midnight. &nbsp;Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 10 seconds. A slight chance &nbsp;of showers in the evening then a chance of showers after &nbsp;midnight. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-19997412689980259632019-05-15T07:48:00.001-07:002019-05-15T07:48:06.044-07:005/15 Loon, tanker ban, dying cedars, Blanchard Mtn., Green R dam, plankton bloom, Arctic heat, toxic lake<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ihsppjZQynQ/XNwmjTBGYFI/AAAAAAAAJmk/HTTOTJ6qL1o99vGsO1umIpiuSoR-1wq4gCLcBGAs/s1600/Pacific%2Bloon_Greg%2BLasley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="373" height="258" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ihsppjZQynQ/XNwmjTBGYFI/AAAAAAAAJmk/HTTOTJ6qL1o99vGsO1umIpiuSoR-1wq4gCLcBGAs/s320/Pacific%2Bloon_Greg%2BLasley.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pacific loon [Greg Lasley]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Pacific loon</b> <i>Gavia pacifica</i><br />This loon is hardly "Pacific" in summer -- its breeding range extends across northern Canada as far east as Hudson Bay and Baffin Island. However, the great majority of these birds head west to the Pacific Coast to spend the winter. Its diet includes fish, crustaceans, insects. Diet varies with place and season. Apparently eats mostly small fish when these are available, especially in winter and on ocean. Also eats crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, and some plant material, especially during breeding season. (Audubon)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/garneau-senate-committee-bc-tanker-ban-1.5135709">Garneau says he's open to amendments as opposition to B.C. tanker ban bill mounts </a></b><br />Transport Minister Marc Garneau told the Senate committee studying the Liberal government's B.C. oil tanker ban bill today that he is open to amendments to Bill C-48 as long as they preserve the bill's stated purpose: to stop virtually all crude oil shipments from ports along B.C.'s northern coast. Faced with criticism from industry, First Nations and provincial leaders, Garneau did not rule out accepting amendments from committee members — including a proposal that would demand a mandatory review of the ban every 3, 5 and 10 years and a proposed change that would tie the bill's enactment to completing the Trans Mountain expansion project. As written, the legislation bans the vast majority of crude oil shipments from the region indefinitely. John Paul Tasker reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/western-red-cedars-death-dry-climate-change-1.5134262">Western red cedars die off as extended dry spells continue, say experts </a></b><br />Some Western red cedars are struggling after repeated periods of drought and experts say the tree could vanish for good in spots with shallow, dry, rocky soil if current climate patterns continue. When Nick Page started posting pictures of dead Western red cedars that had turned from verdant green to rust red he was overwhelmed by how many people chimed in or sent more disturbing images. Page, a biologist, says this has been long warned and predictions seem to be coming true in many parts of the Lower Mainland. Trees on sunny slopes with poor soil are the first to go. Yvette Brend reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/inslee-signs-bill-to-protect-blanchard-mountain-core/article_e7c31f51-ea6d-5d37-882e-d202998f3bed.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Inslee signs bill to protect Blanchard Mountain core </a></b><br />With Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature last week, a plan to permanently conserve recreation lands in the state forest on Blanchard Mountain is one step closer to being realized. The plan is to transfer the trust fund status of forests on Blanchard to forests in other areas of Skagit County. This would ensure the local beneficiaries of those Blanchard trust lands don’t lose timber revenue. Trust lands managed by Natural Resources on Blanchard Mountain benefit local taxing districts, including the Burlington-Edison School District, Skagit County Emergency Medical Services and cemetery districts. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://q13fox.com/2019/05/14/puget-sound-dam-jeopardizing-salmon-endangered-orcas/">Puget Sound dam jeopardizing salmon, endangered orcas </a></b><br />The Green River is cut in half by two dams that keep adult salmon from going upstream to spawn and juveniles from migrating down to the ocean. The current state of one of the dams is threatening three endangered species. The first dam has been blocking fish habitat for about a century. Tacoma Headworks Diversion Dam east of Ravensdale is how the City of Tacoma gets its water. Tacoma Water was tasked with building an upstream trap-and-haul facility and finished construction in 2005. The facility should allow Tacoma Water to transport adult salmon above its dam and Howard A. Hanson Dam, which is three miles upstream. To this day, that hasn't happened because the Howard Hanson dam is incomplete. Simone Del Rosario reports. (KCPQ)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/plankton-bloom-spotted-in-puget-sound-between-tacoma-and-edmonds/281-27669b37-9f0a-4c58-a916-73a0fb59cd83">Plankton bloom spotted in Puget Sound between Tacoma and Edmonds </a></b><br />A large plankton bloom can be seen spread across Puget Sound from Tacoma to Edmonds, the Washington Department of Ecology said. They tweeted out photos taken from a helicopter over the non-toxic bloom. This bloom is earlier than usual, the department said, but last week's sunny weather provided the algae with a better environment to grow. (KING)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/05/14/it-was-degrees-near-arctic-ocean-this-weekend-carbon-dioxide-hit-its-highest-level-human-history/?utm_term=.a0aee72d3b7b">It was 84 degrees near the Arctic Ocean this weekend as carbon dioxide hit its highest level in human history </a></b><br />Over the weekend, the climate system sounded simultaneous alarms. Near the entrance to the Arctic Ocean in northwest Russia, the temperature surged to 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius). Meanwhile, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eclipsed 415 parts per million for the first time in human history. By themselves, these are just data points. But taken together with so many indicators of an altered atmosphere and rising temperatures, they blend into the unmistakable portrait of human-induced climate change. Saturday’s steamy 84-degree reading was posted in Arkhangelsk, Russia, where the average high temperature is around 54 this time of year. The city of 350,000 people sits next to the White Sea, which feeds into the Arctic Ocean’s Barents Sea. Jason Samenow reports. (Washington Post)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/dog-dies-owner-sickened-after-exposure-to-toxin-at-anderson-lake/">Dog dies after exposure to toxin at Anderson Lake </a></b><br />A dog that was exposed to a toxin in the water at Anderson Lake has died and its owner was exposed. The death Sunday was the third dog death recorded since 2006, when two died and forced weekly testing of the lake the following year. Clue, an Australian kelpie less than 2 years old, was on a leash on the trail system Sunday when she made contact with the water. Brian McLean reports.(Peninsula Daily News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/port-of-everett-could-condemn-kimberly-clark-site/">Port might invoke eminent domain over Kimberly-Clark site </a></b><br />The agency wants to expand maritime freight and ship maintenance, but it isn't the only interested party. Noah Haglund and Lizz Giordano report. (Everett Herald) [Paywall]<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/dialing-in-the-temperature-is-saving-fish-gaining-notice/">Dialing in the temperature is saving fish, gaining notice </a></b><br />After restoring five miles of habitat, the PUD needed to warm the Sultan River near a dam. Liz Giordano reports. (Everett Herald) [Paywall]<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;232 AM PDT Wed May 15 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 4 &nbsp;ft at 15 seconds. A slight chance of rain in the afternoon.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell &nbsp;4 ft at 14 seconds. Rain likely in the evening then a chance of &nbsp;rain after midnight. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-72666702064786071152019-05-14T07:47:00.000-07:002019-05-14T07:47:03.846-07:005/14 Strawberry, 'A Deadly Wind,' WA water standard, spill cleanup, eelgrass, Roundup, anemones<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QLz1IDlLmUw/XNrUquJyy6I/AAAAAAAAJmY/Kg0onTWfvEssH5KUKTJid5mMaM7ZeSEdACLcBGAs/s1600/woodlandstraw_Berkeley%2BPerennials.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="398" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QLz1IDlLmUw/XNrUquJyy6I/AAAAAAAAJmY/Kg0onTWfvEssH5KUKTJid5mMaM7ZeSEdACLcBGAs/s320/woodlandstraw_Berkeley%2BPerennials.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woodland strawberry [Berkeley Perennials]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Woodland strawberry</b> <i>Fragaria vesca</i><br />Woodland strawberry is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Rose family that grows naturally throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, and that produces edible fruits.<br />It is a species of openings and open forests, at low to subalpine elevations south of about 55-degrees north. It is tolerant of a variety of moisture levels (except very wet or dry conditions). It can survive mild fires and/or establish itself after fires. (Wikipedia, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://bit.ly/2YkL8ie">Salish Sea Communications- A Deadly Wind: The 1962 Columbus Day Storm </a></b><br />Floyd McKay reviews John Dodge's spellbinding book about the massive Columbus Day Storm in advance of John's talk in Bellingham on 5/21 at Heiner Center, Whatcom Community College.<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/inslee-ferguson-denounce-epa-move-to-ease-water-standards-for-washington-state/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">Inslee, Ferguson denounce EPA move to ease water standards for Washington state </a></b><br />The Environmental Protection Agency proposes to ease Washington water-quality standards for chemicals discharged into state waterways, a move embraced by industry groups that sought the change and denounced as “illegal” by Gov. Jay Inslee and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. The action, disclosed Friday, reverses a 2016 decision by the EPA under the Obama administration that required the state to toughen the water-quality standard. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article230346529.html">Millions to be spent on oil spill cleanup at Tumwater brewery </a></b><br />An effort to clean up an oil spill that originated in a damaged transformer at the former Tumwater brewery nearly two months ago has become too expensive for Tumwater Development LLC, the owner of the property. The state Department of Ecology announced late last week that the state would take over the clean up effort. It has cost the brewery owner an unspecified amount, although both a communications representative for the owner and ecology officials said the cost was in the millions of dollars. Ecology spokeswoman Sandy Howard said Monday the owner “has run out of funds at the moment.” However, she said the owner “showed good faith” and “accomplished a lot” before the state took over last week. Rolf Boone reports. (Olympian)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.eopugetsound.org/articles/science-spotlight-eelgrass-recovery">Science in the spotlight: Eelgrass recovery </a></b><br />The Washington Department of Natural Resources is studying new ways of increasing ecologically important eelgrass habitat in Puget Sound. It is part of the state's effort to boost eelgrass 20% Sound-wide by 2020. So far, the species has fallen short of that goal but transplanting efforts are showing promise. Eric Wagner reports. (Encyclopedia of Puget Sound)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-glyphosate-lawsuit/california-jury-says-bayer-must-pay-2-billion-to-couple-in-roundup-cancer-trial-idUSKCN1SJ29F">California jury says Bayer must pay $2 billion to couple in Roundup cancer trial </a></b><br />A California jury on Monday awarded more than $2 billion to a couple who claimed Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused their cancer, marking the third consecutive U.S. jury verdict against the company in litigation over the chemical. The jury in San Francisco Superior Court in Oakland said the company was liable for plaintiffs Alva and Alberta Pilliod’s contracting non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a spokeswoman for the couple said. It awarded $18 million in compensatory and $1 billion in punitive damages to Alva Pilliod and $37 million in compensatory and $1 billion in punitive damages to his wife, Alberta Pilliod. The jury found Roundup had been defectively designed, that the company failed to warn of the herbicide’s cancer risk and that the company acted negligently. Tina Bellon reports. (Reuters)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/for-sea-anemones-global-warming-and-microplastics-have-teamed-up-to-make-everything-worse/">For Sea Anemones, Global Warming and Microplastics Have Teamed Up to Make Everything Worse </a></b><br />Climate change and plastic pollution are major threats to all marine life, from minuscule crustaceans to gigantic whales. Although many experiments have examined these threats, few have looked at what happens when they both strike at once. At least for the sea anemone, new research from a team at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, California, suggests that the combined threat is worse than the sum of its parts.&nbsp; Hannah Thomasy reports. (Hakai Magazine)<br /><br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;227 AM PDT Tue May 14 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind to 10 kt becoming S 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft at 15 seconds. Rain in the &nbsp;morning then showers in the afternoon.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming W to 10 kt after midnight. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 4 ft at 13 seconds. A chance of &nbsp;showers in the evening. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-16435057556453792072019-05-13T07:42:00.001-07:002019-05-13T07:42:17.398-07:005/13 Anemone, BC orca sanctuaries, NW snowpack, border shift, wolf delist, BC spotted owl, oil train suit, Intalco, Staples-Bortner, helium, Mariana Trench plastic<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zj84KF25bOI/XNmCLiC7MxI/AAAAAAAAJmM/mc58-S9t2QQ009BWwIR2R1AjToguInnnwCLcBGAs/s1600/Buried%2Banemone_Mary%2BJo%2BAdams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="410" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zj84KF25bOI/XNmCLiC7MxI/AAAAAAAAJmM/mc58-S9t2QQ009BWwIR2R1AjToguInnnwCLcBGAs/s320/Buried%2Banemone_Mary%2BJo%2BAdams.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buried anemone [Mary Jo Adams]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Buried anemone</b> <i>Anthopleura artemisia</i><br />This species can be found in areas of muddy sand and also on rockier beaches where there are areas of gravel or shell fragments.&nbsp; Normally only the oral disk and tentacles are visible with the column buried beneath the substrate.&nbsp; The crown of tentacles may reach a diameter of 4 inches (10 cm.)with the tentacles colored pink, orange, green, blue, or brown and in our area often display banding.&nbsp; When waters recede, the tentacles withdraw below the surface. (Sound Water Stewards)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Canada-Sanctuaries-and-food-for-our-endangered-13836941.php">Canada: Sanctuaries and food for our endangered killer whales </a></b><br />Canada has announced big-scale measures to safeguard and feed endangered killer whales in the Salish Sea, a day after Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law measures to protect endangered orcas on the U.S. side of the border. The Canadians, in measures announced Friday, put a lot of emphasis on slowing down ships, establishing vessel-free "sanctuary zones" and keeping all boats 400 meters (1,300-plus feet) away from the endangered whales.... Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is also undertaking to put food in the water for the southern residents. The orcas are an endangered species dependent on another endangered species -- chinook salmon. The DFO will release one million juvenile chinook salmon annually from its Chilliwack Hatchery along the Fraser River, for the next five years. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI) See also: <b><a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/ships-must-keep-400-metre-distance-as-part-of-new-rules-to-protect-killer-whales">Ships must keep 400 metres away from killer whales off B.C. coast </a></b><br />Laura Kane reports. (Canadian Press)<br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/searing-may-heat-xxxx-snowpack-xxxxx-water-flows-for-fish-and-farmers/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">May heat shrinks Washington snowpack, raising risk for tight water flows for fish and farmers&nbsp; </a></b><br />The Pacific Northwest is again experiencing surging spring heat that shattered temperatures this past week and prompted red-flag warnings for fire risks in lowland portions of Southwest Washington. Last year, intense May warmth brought a sudden melt of a big mountain snowpack, causing flooding in north central and northeast Washington as the Okanogan River reached its highest flood stage in four decades. This year, the statewide snowpack, as of Friday, averaged only 58 percent of the median amount for that date. So instead of being concerned about high water, state officials are preparing for summer drought, which can raise the potential for wildfires, reduce irrigation flows to farmers and make life difficult for salmon that depend on cool water to survive. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/us-canada-border-transfers-raise-fear-of-delayed-crossings">Canada-U.S. border transfers raise fear of delayed crossings </a></b><br />Hundreds of border agents from across the U.S. are being temporarily transferred south ahead of the busy summer tourism season, worrying those along the northern border who rely on cross-border commerce — including U.S. innkeepers, shop owners and restaurateurs who fear their Canadian customers could be caught in backups at border crossings. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says 731 northern border agents from land, sea and airports are in the process of being sent to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they will help their southern counterparts handle the influx of families and unaccompanied children from Central America. The move comes as businesses gear up for the summer season, when tens of thousands of Canadian tourists help buoy the economies of communities in border states and elsewhere deeper inside the United States. Since U.S.-Canada border security was ramped up shortly after the 9-11 attacks, local and state officials have worried heightened security could hurt trade and the free flow of people back and forth across the 5,525-mile (8,891-kilometre) border. Wilson Ring reports. (Canadian Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/State-official-supports-delisting-wolves-in-all-13832302.php">State official supports delisting wolves in all Washington </a></b><br />Wolves should be removed from the federal endangered species list throughout Washington state, Washington Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind wrote in a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released this week.... The federal government has already delisted wolves in the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, as well as in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Wolves were wiped out in Washington early in the last century, largely on behalf of livestock interests. The animals began moving back into the state about 20 years ago from neighboring Idaho and British Columbia. The state in 2018 counted a minimum of 126 wolves in 27 packs with 15 successful breeding pairs, defined as male and female adults that have raised at least two pups that survived through the end of the year. The latest census also for the first time recorded a wolf pack west of the Cascade Range, in Skagit County. Nicholas K. Geranios reports. (AP)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/spotted-owl-protections-bc-new-chick-breeding-program-1.5131548">Environmentalists threaten legal action if B.C. spotted owls' habitat not protected </a></b><br />Conservationists are demanding Ottawa do more to protect the spotted owl, and are threatening legal action against the federal government if it doesn't take more steps to save one of the most endangered animals in Canada. Environmental advocate group Ecojustice says that there are an estimated six spotted owls left in the wild in Canada — all in B.C. — and the animals are at risk of being completely wiped out. Ecojustice and the Wilderness Committee want the federal government to come to the rescue of the birds by committing to a tougher plan for the spotted owl in southwestern B.C. Chad Pawson reports. (CBC) See also: <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/rare-look-at-northern-spotted-owl-chick-now-possible-thanks-to-bc-webcam-1.5131471">Bird lovers get rare look at youngest member of one of the most endangered species in Canada&nbsp;</a></b> (Canadian Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/north-dakota-to-sue-washington-state-over-oil-train-standard/2019/05/10/596bde66-734c-11e9-9331-30bc5836f48e_story.html?utm_term=.02c4afbd7171">North Dakota to sue Washington state over oil train standard </a></b><br />North Dakota is preparing to sue Washington state over a new Washington law requiring oil shipped by rail through that state to have more of its volatile gases removed, which supporters say would reduce the risk of explosive and potentially deadly derailments. North Dakota officials say the law will make Pacific Northwest refineries off-limits to the energy industry of North Dakota, which is the nation’s No. 2 crude producer. They are also reaching out to other oil-producing states to garner support for the lawsuit, which they expect to file within weeks in federal court. Blake Nicholson reports. (AP)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/business/article230273004.html">Alcoa’s Intalco smelter agrees to reduce pollution emissions. Here’s what that means</a></b><br />Alcoa’s aluminum smelter near Ferndale has agreed to a plan to install pollution equipment that will reduce sulfur dioxide releases. Washington State’s Department of Ecology announced last week that Alcoa Intalco Works has agreed to put in a wet scrubber to reduce emissions of the gas, which is known for its sharp smell that can cause breathing and other health issues. The cost of the scrubber installation project is estimated to be $15 million, and it is expected to be in place by the end of 2022, according to a news release from Alcoa. ave Gallagher reports. (Bellingham Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2019/05/12/sandra-staples-bortner-to-retire-from-great-peninsula-conservancy/">Sandra Staples-Bortner to retire from Great Peninsula Conservancy </a></b><br />Sandra Staples-Bortner, executive director of the Great Peninsula Conservancy, will retire at the end of this month after 11 years on the job. Those involved in the regional land trust say she will leave the organization much larger and stronger than before her arrival. Great Peninsula Conservancy — which protects salmon streams, forests and shorelines — was formed in 2000 by the merger of four smaller land trusts: Kitsap, Hood Canal, Indianola and Peninsula Heritage land trusts. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article230258414.html">Party City closing 45 stores as helium shortage hurts sales. Why is the gas scarce? </a></b><br />The CEO of Party City cited a global helium shortage as he announced on Thursday that the retail chain will close 45 of its 870 stores this year. But the scarcity of the important gas isn’t just a party-pooper: Helium is also essential in semiconductor manufacturing, scientific research and medical tools like MRIs, according to Sophia E. Hayes, a professor of chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. “We’ve heard that we have roughly a 200-year supply, at current consumption rates,” Hayes said in a statement released by the university last month. “That sounds pretty comforting, because 200 years sounds like a big window. But the demand for helium is also going up at 10 percent a year, roughly, worldwide — in part driven by the semiconductor industry out of Asia.” Jared Gilmour reports. (McClatchy)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/canada-geese-numbers-expected-to-increase-due-to-limited-control-measures">Canada-geese numbers to increase despite limited control measures </a></b><br />The number of Canada geese are likely to grow incrementally this summer despite measures by the Vancouver park board to control their spread into city beaches and parks. There are about 2,500 Canada geese in Vancouver, according to Nick Page, biologist with the Vancouver park board. The main method of population control is sterilizing eggs by shaking a fertilized one and then replacing it with a frozen one to trick the mother to continue nesting. If all the Canada geese paired up, there could be as many as 1,250 nests around the city, but the park board has so far addled about 50 nests and 255 eggs. Kevin Griffin reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48230157">Mariana Trench: Deepest-ever sub dive finds plastic bag </a></b><br />An American explorer has found plastic waste on the seafloor while breaking the record for the deepest ever dive. Victor Vescovo descended nearly 11km (seven miles) to the deepest place in the ocean - the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. He spent four hours exploring the bottom of the trench in his submersible, built to withstand the immense pressure of the deep. He found sea creatures, but also found a plastic bag and sweet wrappers. Rebecca Morelle reports. (BBC)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;248 AM PDT Mon May 13 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: red;"><br />SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON</span></strong><strong><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;THROUGH THIS EVENING</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 15 to 25 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft. W swell &nbsp;3 ft at 9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW 5 to 15 kt after &nbsp;midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less. W swell &nbsp;3 ft at 9 seconds. A slight chance of showers. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-91531623983971149972019-05-10T07:40:00.003-07:002019-05-10T07:40:58.889-07:005/10 Eelpout, steelhead, underwater noise, green crab, Sequim marina, Ross Lake, I-5, Chambers Cr. resort, sea cucumber, cleaner Vancouver<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hbCPQgojgS4/XNWNXNGPbKI/AAAAAAAAJlo/otGvDJQPN0wpKi-PyjmrmwR9_KTZB_ZnwCLcBGAs/s1600/blackbelly%2Beelpout.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="399" height="239" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hbCPQgojgS4/XNWNXNGPbKI/AAAAAAAAJlo/otGvDJQPN0wpKi-PyjmrmwR9_KTZB_ZnwCLcBGAs/s320/blackbelly%2Beelpout.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackbelly eelpout [Janna Nichols]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Blackbelly eelpout</b> <i>Lycodopsis pacifica</i><br />Found in Eastern Pacific Gulf of Alaska to northern Baja California, Mexico, on silty or sandy bottoms. Moves into shallow water at night to feed on marine worms, crustaceans, small bivalves, and brittle stars. Few live over 5 years. If used live as bait, it attracts large rockfishes, greenlings or codfishes. Flesh considered good but not esteemed. (Discover Life) <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://q13fox.com/2019/05/09/tracking-endangered-steelhead-producing-answers-and-more-questions-about-their-long-term-survival/">Tracking endangered Steelhead producing answers and more questions about their long-term survival </a></b><br />With giant buckets of cold Nisqually River water and some smaller bins to hold fish, Megan Moore is assembling a field surgical ward outside of the small town of Yelm.,,, But Moore is no surgeon. She’s a research biologist with NOAA’s Fisheries Office in Seattle. This set up is a spring ritual along the fast moving and pristine river for more than a decade now. And her patients: endangered steelhead. Steelhead and salmon are not only big business in Washington State, many species are also in big trouble. But, each year scientists are starting to uncover clues to turning that trend around. Thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to our state economy hang in the balance. Tim Joyce reports. (KCPQ)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/orcas/underwater-microphones-show-how-noisy-it-is-for-orcas-in-puget-sound/281-c52a41d5-2416-49ca-85d1-7f0bc534805e">Underwater microphones show how noisy it is for orcas in Puget Sound </a></b><br />Southern Resident killer whales use clicks and sound to find their prey, the majority of which are Chinook salmon. The signal bounces of a fish's swim bladder like a radar, which helps the orcas know exactly where their prey is located. Sometimes those fish are hundreds of meters away.&nbsp; The hunt gets even more challenging as Chinook salmon stocks continue to decline. Now, add in all the noisy vessels in between the whales and the few Chinook salmon that remain. Scott Viers is the coordinator of OrcaSound's hydrophone network. https://www.orcasound.net/ The underwater acoustic monitoring system records in real time the underwater noise around Puget Sound. Alison Morrow reports. (KING)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2019/05/09/can-volunteer-trappers-halt-the-green-crab-invasion-in-puget-sound/">Can volunteer trappers halt the green crab invasion in Puget Sound? </a></b><br />The war against the invasive European green crab continues in Puget Sound, as this year’s Legislature offers increased financial support, and new trapping sites have been added in Samish and Port Gamble bays. In other parts of the country where green crabs have become established, the invaders have destroyed native shoreline habitat, diminished native species and cost shellfish growers millions of dollars in damages. See Environmental Protection Agency report (PDF 1.3 mb). https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-12/documents/ee-0513-01.pdf In Puget Sound, it’s hard to know whether the crabs are being trapped and removed rapidly enough to defeat the invasion, but so far humans seem to be holding their own, according to Emily Grason, who manages the Crab Team volunteer trapping effort for Washington Sea Grant. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways) See also: <b><a href="https://www.vicnews.com/news/raving-%20mad-crabs-spotted-at-esquimalt-lagoon/">‘Raving mad crabs’ spotted at Esquimalt Lagoon&nbsp;</a></b> DFO laying traps for invasive European green crabs. Swikar Oli reports. (Victoria News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/jamestown-sklallam-tribe-eyes-marina-on-sequim-bay/">Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe eyes marina on Sequim Bay </a></b><br />The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is exploring the purchase of John Wayne Marina from the Port of Port Angeles — if other options do not work out — Tribal Chairman Ron Allen said Thursday. The tribe now is working with the city of Sequim on a joint proposal to run the public, 300-slip facility under city ownership. Under the joint city-tribe proposal, the port would transfer the marina to the city “at no or very low cost,” according to an April 23, 2018, City Council resolution, and the tribe would manage it. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/low-ross-lake-levels-to-impact-summer-recreation/article_8b3f588f-4d82-556a-ae78-eb75a7101cd9.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Low Ross Lake levels to impact summer recreation </a></b><br />As abnormally dry conditions continue, Skagit River water reserves are now forecast to reach uncharacteristic lows this summer. Seattle City Light, which operates three hydroelectric dams on the upper Skagit River, recently announced it anticipates its largest reservoir, Ross Lake, will see water levels 25 feet lower than normal this summer. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, which compiles state water supply outlook reports, water levels in the Skagit River may dip to about 77 percent of normal over the summer. Seattle City Light doesn’t anticipate impacts to the water supply. However, recreation around the man-made lake tucked in the North Cascades will be impacted, according to the utility and North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattlemag.com/news/week-then-i-5-turns-50">This Week Then: I-5 Turns 50 </a></b><br />Fifty years ago this week, on May 14, 1969, the final segment of Interstate 5 in Washington opened for traffic between Marysville and Everett, allowing motorists to travel without interruption from the Canadian border to the California state line. The new freeway also helped boost the development of Washington cities along its route, including Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Arlington, Marysville, Everett, Lynnwood, Seattle, Federal Way, Tacoma, Olympia, Centralia, Chehalis, Longview, and Vancouver. Alan Stein writes. (HistoryLink.org/Seattle Magazine)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article230153979.html">Chambers Creek resort lease approved by Pierce County Council </a></b><br />It was never going to be an easy vote. Five and a half hours after convening, the Pierce County Council voted 6-1 in favor of the county executive entering into a long-term ground lease with Chambers Bay Resort, LLC, for the development of a hotel and resort on a portion of Chambers Creek Properties. Council member Connie Ladenburg was the lone “no” vote. Before the vote, she offered a lengthy challenge to the measure, pointing to the council’s lack of information, particularly from the project’s financial standpoint, to make an adequate decision. She also offered survey results that showed an overwhelming negative response to the idea of people living in golf villas in the park. Debbie Cockrell reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/sea-cucumbers-keep-rollin-rollin-rollin/">Sea Cucumbers Keep Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ </a></b><br />It’s an odd line to hear, that the sea cucumbers “wouldn’t settle down.” But that curious observation, made in the lab of Memorial University of Newfoundland professor and biologist Annie Mercier, set the stage for the discovery of a wholly unexpected mode of locomotion in orange-footed sea cucumbers. These creatures, which look something like 20-centimeter-long footballs with a cluster of branch-like tentacles at one end, were long thought to live sedentary lives. However, Mercier’s new laboratory research shows that, when under duress, the orange-footed sea cucumber will release its grip from the ocean floor, pump itself full of water, and roll away. To make its great escape, the invertebrate absorbs water through both its mouth and anus. Doug Johnson reports. (Hakai Magazine)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-car-washing-bylaws-1.5130535">Vancouver woman wants to clean up how people wash their cars&nbsp;</a></b> <br />Lydia Lee is petitioning the City of Vancouver to let people know how to legally wash cars. Rafferty Baker reports. (CBC) And: <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dog-waste-vancouver-motion-1.5129330">What to do about doggy doo-doo? Vancouver councillor has an idea&nbsp;</a></b> Motion from Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung aims to make disposing dog waste easier for owners, greener for city. Andrea Ross reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your weekend tug weather--<br /></b>West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;304 AM PDT Fri May 10 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft &nbsp;at 11 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell &nbsp;3 ft at 10 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming NW 15 to 25 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves 2 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the &nbsp;afternoon. W swell 3 ft at 9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT NIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 8 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SUN</span></strong>&nbsp;Light wind becoming W 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Wind &nbsp;waves less than 1 to 2 ft. W swell 5 ft at 9 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-9875591298751148192019-05-09T07:16:00.002-07:002019-05-09T07:16:56.126-07:005/9 Spring coral, nixing LNG and methanol, tsunami, Enbridge, gas price, orca bills, Everett cleanup, BC salal<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YH_5FNqgH4M/XNQ19V_PU_I/AAAAAAAAJlc/KVctE86Dy30dzo5P7deyPTOgVrP7iwzPQCLcBGAs/s1600/Spring%2Bcoral.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="348" height="238" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YH_5FNqgH4M/XNQ19V_PU_I/AAAAAAAAJlc/KVctE86Dy30dzo5P7deyPTOgVrP7iwzPQCLcBGAs/s320/Spring%2Bcoral.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northwest spring coral [Wikipedia]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Northwest spring coral</b> <i>Ramaria rasilipora</i><br />This is one of the common spring corals. Its fruit bodies grow on the ground in coniferous forests. Fruiting occurs in spring and summer. The species was first described scientifically in 1974 by American mycologists Currie Marr and Daniel Stuntz. The specific epithet rasilispora is derived from the roots rasil- (shaved, scraped, or worn smooth) and spora (spore). It is commonly known as the "yellow coral". Common in western North America,its range extends south to Mexico. Edible but some people are adversely affected and suffer gastrointestinal upset. (Wikipedia, The New<br />Savory Wild Mushroom)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article230193364.html">Gov. Jay Inslee speaks out against LNG plant in Tacoma, methanol facility in Kalama </a></b><br />Washington’s governor is changing course on his support of two fossil-fuel projects in the state. Following a bill signing Wednesday banning hydraulic fracking for oil and natural gas within Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee spoke out against projects tied to fossil fuels, including Puget Sound Energy’s liquefied natural gas site under construction in Tacoma and a methanol production facility in Kalama, which had been previously proposed for Tacoma. Inslee said emerging science on the rapid pace of climate change and the environmental effects of natural gas now mean the “state’s efforts and future investments in energy infrastructure should focus on clean, renewable sources rather than fossil fuels,” according to a news release Wednesday issued from his office. Debbie Cockrell reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.knkx.org/post/oral-history-wasnt-myth-tsunamis-hit-tribal-village-five-times-new-study-shows">The oral history wasn't a myth. Tsunamis hit this tribal village five times, new study shows </a></b><br />A legend about a great flood has been passed down through the centuries among the Klallam people on the north side of Washington's Olympic Peninsula. As re-told by Klallam elder Ed Sampson on a recording preserved by a University of North Texas linguist, the people noticed the fresh water turning salty -- a detail from which we infer a tsunami. In the story, a wise man warned the people to get ready. They scrambled into canoes provisioned with food and water. The survivors rode out the flood by tying cedar ropes to the tops of the tallest mountains of the nearby Olympic Range. Lower Elwha Klallam tribal chairwoman Frances Charles said now there's proof this story "is not a myth." tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/enbridge-northern-gateway-agm-1.5128788">Enbridge has no plans to resurrect Northern Gateway project, says CEO </a></b><br />The new government in Alberta wants Enbridge to bring back its proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline, but the company's chief executive said there is little chance that will happen. In the campaign platform of the newly elected UCP government, the party vowed to fight for the re-start of the project, in addition to TransCanada's Energy East project. TransCanada has already said it has no plans to revisit its project. On Wednesday, Enbridge's CEO Al Monaco poured cold water on reviving Northern Gateway. Karl Bakx reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-drivers-filling-up-jerry-cans-in-the-u-s-despite-safety-risks">B.C. drivers filling up jerry cans in the U.S., despite safety risks </a></b><br />B.C. drivers facing sky-high gas prices are not only filling their tanks stateside, but also filling containers to bring back with them, although one expert said the practice is potentially dangerous because gas is so flammable. Motorists tired of paying almost $1.70 a litre are flocking to the U.S. to pay as little as $1.13 Cdn a litre at Costco. That works out to more than $25 in savings on a 50-litre fill. One gas station employee said on Wednesday about half the Canadians who come for a top-up also fill extra containers to take home. There is nothing illegal about the practice because individuals are allowed to transport up to six jerrycans under an exemption in Transport Canada’s transportation of dangerous goods regulations. Susan Lazaruk reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.wral.com/gov-inslee-signs-range-of-bills-aimed-at-helping-orcas/18374284/">Gov. Inslee signs range of bills aimed at helping orcas </a></b><br />Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed several bills Wednesday designed to help the Pacific Northwest's endangered orcas, measures that he said gave him hope the species might be saved. The measures include requiring more oil shipments near the San Juan Islands to have tugboat escorts to prevent spills, allowing anglers to catch more walleye and bass that prey on young salmon, and giving state agencies the authority to ban toxic chemicals in consumer goods. Other important parts include improving the state's ability to enforce permit requirements for work that hardens shorelines, such as by installing bulkheads near homes, and making vessels stay farther away from orcas and go slower when they're near them. Gene Johnson reports. (Associated Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/state-commits-16m-to-clean-former-mill-site-of-contaminants/">State commits $16M to clean former mill site of contaminants </a></b><br />One day, cargo ships stretching 1,000 feet in length could berth at Port of Everett’s South Terminal, where workers would unload shipments of large airplane parts destined for the Boeing factory. But first the port must deal with thousands of tons of contaminated sediment, a legacy of a century of sawmill and pulp mill operations, as well as enlarge the existing berth by 30 percent. While a little of the work is done, it’s going to cost in the neighborhood of $105 million and take three to five years to finish it all. Port officials don’t have all the money in hand. They did receive good news in April as lawmakers earmarked $16.25 million for the project in the next state capital budget. Those dollars will come out of the state’s Model Toxics Control Account, which was reformulated this year to enable the state to pledge bigger sums to larger cleanups — like this one. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/salal-shrubs-dying-bc-climate-change-1.5127828">B.C.'s salal shrubs are dying and extreme weather could be the culprit </a></b><br />One of B.C.'s most abundant plants is in trouble: patches of hardy salal plants are turning up brown, crispy and dying. Richard Hamelin, a professor of forest pathology at UBC's Faculty of Forestry, knew something was seriously wrong when he started getting reports — from people in the Sea to Sky corridor, Vancouver Island, the Fraser Valley, and beyond — about the dying salal. "We thought right away that something really unusual is happening when we were getting calls from a lot of different areas of the province," Hamelin said. The evergreen, shrub-like plant is widespread across the province's forests and is known for its hardiness. That's partly why the sight of the dried, brown leaves was so noticeable and surprising, Hamelin said. Clare Hennig reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/washington-forest-protection-agreement/">Washington, Federal Officials Sign Agreement To Protect Forests </a></b><br />State and federal officials signed an agreement Wednesday to protect Washington’s forests and wildlife. The plan would combine resources to fight destructive wildfires, threats to forest health and challenges faced by salmon and orcas. “If we’re going to prevent the Evergreen State from turning brown, we must begin to coordinate, collaborate and work tirelessly to change the trajectory of these forests as one team,” said Hilary Franz, Washington’s lands commissioner and head of its Department of Natural Resources. The Shared Stewardship Agreement was signed by officials from DNR, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service and the regional forester. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;300 AM PDT Thu May 9 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;E wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft &nbsp;at 9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;NW wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind &nbsp;waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 12 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-88353855696910825402019-05-08T07:56:00.002-07:002019-05-08T07:56:47.960-07:005/8 Jaeger, WA clean energy, EU climate, Oly Mtn snow pack, Growler suit, food chain study, BC gas price<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t0ECP-zL100/XNLuCnZLIxI/AAAAAAAAJlQ/Y8MqzZwtWloZUtMbuREX0eIdq-56shm7ACLcBGAs/s1600/parasitic%2Bjaeger_glen%2Bbartley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="321" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t0ECP-zL100/XNLuCnZLIxI/AAAAAAAAJlQ/Y8MqzZwtWloZUtMbuREX0eIdq-56shm7ACLcBGAs/s320/parasitic%2Bjaeger_glen%2Bbartley.png" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parasitic jaeger [Glenn Bartley]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Parasitic jaeger</b> <i>Stercorarius parasiticus</i><br />At sea, the parasitic jaeger does much of its foraging by chasing other birds and forcing them to drop their catch then dipping down in flight to catch fish at the surface. On breeding grounds, it also hovers and swoops down to catch prey, and feeds while walking. Its diet ncludes fish, birds, rodents. Diet at sea and at coastal nesting areas is mostly fish stolen from other birds. On land, also eats many birds and their eggs, rodents, insects, berries. Less dependent on lemmings and other rodents than the other jaegers. (Audubon Field Guide)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/inslee-signs-package-of-long-sought-climate-bills-that-include-a-phase-out-of-coal-and-natural-gas-fired-power-plants/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">Inslee signs bills bringing Washington state closer to zero-carbon electricity </a></b><br />Gov. Jay Inslee signed a package of bills Tuesday to combat climate change headlined by legislation to rid Washington’s electric grid of fossil-fuel-generated power by 2045, a move that makes the state a leader in the national clean-power movement. Other parts of the green agenda now embedded in state law create new conservation standards for energy use in large new buildings, require new efficiency standards for appliances and phase out “super pollutant” hydrofluorocarbons used as refrigerants.... Even with these bills’ passage, Washington still is projected to fall short of the emission targets set by state law. Hal Bernton and Jim Brunner report. (Seattle Times) See also:<b><a href="https://crosscut.com/2019/05/jay-inslee-hopes-new-clean-energy-laws-will-recharge-his-presidential-bid"> Jay Inslee hopes new clean-energy laws will recharge his presidential bid&nbsp; </a></b>Melissa Santos reports. (Crosscut)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48198646">Proposal to spend 25% of EU budget on climate change </a></b><br />Eight European countries have called for an ambitious strategy to tackle climate change – and to spend a quarter of the entire EU budget on fighting it. The joint statement says the EU should have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 "at the latest". It was signed by France, Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. The group says their plan can "go hand in hand with prosperity" and "set an example for other countries to follow." (BBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/olympic-mountain-snowpack-melting-fast/">Olympic Mountain snowpack melting fast </a></b><br />Olympic Mountain snowpack has slipped well below normal and will melt rapidly as temperatures climb this week, a water supply specialist said. Snowpack was 72 percent of normal Tuesday as measured at two snow telemetry sites operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Normal is defined as the median snowpack from 1981 to 2010. A more comprehensive monthly snowpack measurement revealed a 61 percent snowpack in the Olympics on May 1, said Scott Pattee, a water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Mount Vernon. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News) <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.knkx.org/post/national-parks-group-sues-us-navy-pursuit-information-growler-jet-training">National parks group sues U.S. Navy in pursuit of information on Growler jet training </a></b><br />A national parks organization filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Navy last week, related to jet training at Air Station Whidbey Island. The nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association sued the Navy to get more information about the exercises, which are planned for one of the quietest places in the lower 48. The association submitted a Freedom of Information Act request in 2016, to learn more about the impacts of noise from Growler jets. The Navy says the training exercises with the aircraft could increase to as many as 5,000 a year over the Olympic Mountains. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://q13fox.com/2019/05/07/saving-our-salmon-searching-for-answers-in-the-depths-of-puget-sound/">Saving our salmon: Searching for answers in the depths of Puget Sound </a></b><br />King County is pulling up creatures from the depths of Puget Sound in hopes that what they learn from the bottom of the food chain can help predict the future success of salmon runs -- and in turn -- the endangered southern resident orcas that eat them. Twice a month every month, King County Environmental Laboratory takes out the SoundGuardian boat for its marine ambient survey, which has about 20 stations around the Sound. At each station, scientists cast over the edge of the boat an instrument they call CTD, which stands for conductivity, temperature and depth. Simone Del Rosario reports. (KCPQ)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-gas-prices-horgan-bc-utilities-commission-1.5126311">B.C. premier calls for independent investigation into high gas prices </a></b><br />After being politically hammered over the issue for weeks, B.C. Premier John Horgan has asked the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) if the body will consider investigating why gas prices in the province have soared in comparison to the rest of the country. In a letter sent to the regulator on Tuesday, Horgan said British Columbians — particularly those in Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island — are used to higher gas prices compared to other provinces, but not to this extent. Gas prices have been hovering around a record-high of $1.70 in Metro Vancouver since mid-April. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--<br /></b>West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;239 AM PDT Wed May 8 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;SW wind to 10 kt in the morning becoming light. Wind &nbsp;waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 8 seconds. Patchy fog in the &nbsp;morning.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt becoming SE after midnight. Wind waves &nbsp;1 ft or less. W swell 6 ft at 8 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-52236444280613684982019-05-07T07:22:00.000-07:002019-05-07T07:22:04.247-07:005/7 Salmonberry, Bigg's orcas, boat noise, teen climate march, Green Party win, gas car phase-out, Jordan Cove, Northern pike, dead whale<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F69L_rBGC8A/XNGUSAE5niI/AAAAAAAAJlE/rN-vrbkhEo4v1vPX4j9-jvPJQmJvbRoSwCLcBGAs/s1600/salmondberry.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="358" height="235" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F69L_rBGC8A/XNGUSAE5niI/AAAAAAAAJlE/rN-vrbkhEo4v1vPX4j9-jvPJQmJvbRoSwCLcBGAs/s320/salmondberry.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salmonberry [Wikipedia]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Salmonberry</b> <i>Rubus spectabilis</i><br />Salmonberries are found in moist forests and stream margins, especially in the coastal forests. In open areas they often form large thickets, and thrive in the open spaces under stands of red alder (Alnus rubra). Both sprouts and berries were eaten by all northwest coastal peoples....Some groups mixed the berries in oolichan grease or dried salmon spawn, the berries were often eaten with salmon. Salmonberries are one of the earliest berries to ripen. (Wikipedia, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)<br /> <br />Reader Charlie E writes regarding the <b>Nuttall's cockle</b> featured yesterday: "The amazing thing about Nuttall’s Cockle is its escape response to potential predators. The very muscular foot is used like a kangaroo’s tail to hop away from danger. This allows the cockle to occupy very shallow burrows, whereas other bivalves must dig deeper and invest in long siphons to avoid predators... the strategy doesn’t seem to work against gulls…only sea stars, crabs and moon snails. When I was giving the tours at the [Friday Harbor] labs, I would always end with an escape response finale….putting a small sunflower sea star in a tank with an abalone, a cockle, a sea urchin and a giant sea cucumber. The responses were dramatic to say the least."<br /> <br />And reader Alan F sent some beautiful pictures of <b>Trillium</b> from Lost Lake and Lower Salal trails in the Chuckanuts with the note: "images from last week’s hike in the Chuckanuts in which I counted 175 of these spring treasures.&nbsp; On the Cedar Lake trail I’ve counted as many as 300 on the way up the trail that also spends its way on the north slope of the Chuckanuts."<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.oakbaynews.com/community/biggs-orcas-in-the-salish-sea-point-to-shifting-habitat-of-resident-killer-whales/">Bigg’s orcas in the Salish Sea point to shifting habitat of resident killer whales </a></b><br />To the untrained eye, the orcas socializing in the Salish Sea on Friday could have been the resident whales that many Islanders know and love. But those who know, like Stephen Pincock, owner of Ocean EcoVenture in the Cowichan Valley, recognize the significance of seeing Bigg’s orcas – slightly larger, mammal-eating killer whales – in the endangered Southern residents’ long-time habitat. “We’ve seen [resident orcas] shift to the outer coast more…because there’s more salmon out there for them than in the inner waterways,” Pincock said. “It’s kind of opened the door for the mammal-eaters to come in and take their place.” Nina Grossman reports. (Oak Bay News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/salish-sea-boat-noise-hurts-orca-hunting-ability/281-bd0a5c28-f6ac-4f7e-8c6c-981f4d669a88">Salish Sea boat noise hurts orca hunting ability </a></b><br />The Salish Sea is like a water highway with all kinds of traffic creating all kinds of noise, and because Southern Resident killer whales use sound to locate their food, all the boat noise makes it hard for them to hunt. Killer whales echo-locate their prey, using sonar to find fish and capture it. Any loud noise can interrupt that signal. "What we are finding is that Haro Strait and the Salish Sea are noisy enough that whales are losing 62 percent of their opportunities to communicate over the background noise on a typical day," said Oceans Initiative Founder Rob Williams. "And on a really busy day, they can actually lose up to 97 percent of their opportunities to communicate over meaningful ranges." Williams, a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, has been studying the Southern Resident killer whales since 2003 and admits there is no easy fix for the orcas, who are facing extinction. Alison Morrow reports. (KING)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://kuow.org/stories/tk-youth-strike-for-climate-at-seattle-s-pioneer-square">Teens march to Seattle's City Hall to demand action on climate change </a></b><br />Hundreds of youth marched from Occidental Park to City Hall on Friday to try to pressure legislators to do more to limit the use of fossil fuels and move toward renewable energy. The Seattle march was part of a global movement in which young people are skipping school on Fridays to ask politicians to prioritize climate change. In the U.S., their demands include ending the creation of new fossil fuel infrastructure, moving toward a 100 percent renewable economy and passing the "Green New Deal," a set of legislative proposals aimed at addressing climate change. Eilis O'Neill reports. (KUOW)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nanaimo-ladysmith-byelection-1.5125549">Green Party wins federal byelection in Nanaimo-Ladysmith </a></b><br />Green Party candidate Paul Manly has won the federal byelection in the B.C. riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith. Manly is the second Green candidate elected to a federal seat after the party's leader, Elizabeth May, the sole elected Green MP in the House of Commons since 2011. With almost 99 per cent of polls reporting, Manly had 37.3 per cent of the vote. Conservatives captured 24.8 per cent, and the NDP 23.1 per cent. The Liberals lagged behind with 11 per cent. Michelle Ghoussoub reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/b-c-legislation-to-phase-out-gas-vehicles-by-2040-fuels-debate">B.C. bill to phase out gas vehicles by 2040 spurs debate </a></b><br />When Travis McKeown considered getting rid of his 2007 Honda Civic recently, the high price of gas and the abundance of government rebates made the idea of switching to an electric vehicle too good to pass up.... The B.C. government is counting on motorists like McKeown to sort out the details and make the switch from gas to electric vehicles as part of its aggressive target to require all new car, SUV and light-duty trucks sales be zero-emission by 2040. The idea to phase out gas vehicles as part of the NDP’s Clean B.C. climate-change-pollution reduction goal is attracting both criticism and praise as the legislation winds its way through debate at the legislature. Opposition Liberal MLAs have raised concerns about so-called “range anxiety” on the travel distance of electric vehicles, the lack of available charging stations, battery-replacement costs of up to $8,000 exceeding the value of the vehicle, pollution caused from battery recycling, the high cost of retrofitting charging stations into existing strata buildings, and the need in some parts of rural B.C. to continue to use more-powerful gas and diesel-powered heavy duty trucks. Rob Shaw reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/jordan-cove-natural-gas-state-key-permit-denied/">Key State Certification Denied For SW Oregon's Jordan Cove Natural Gas Export Project </a></b><br />Oregon environmental regulators delivered a blow Monday to a controversial energy export proposal on Oregon’s south coast, saying the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas pipeline and terminal project falls short of meeting clean water standards. The state Department of Environmental Quality announced in a press release its decision that Jordan Cove doesn’t meet standards required under the 401 Water Quality Certification program, which regulates the extent to which projects like this can pollute or otherwise degrade waterways. For Jordan Cove, this would include impacts to rivers and streams from pipeline crossings, dredging, filling in wetlands and stormwater runoff. Jes Burns reports. (OPB)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/columbia-river-salmon-protection-invasive-northern-pike-washington-fish/">It's 'All Hands On Deck' To Protect Columbia River Salmon From Invasive Northern Pike </a></b><br />Northern pike are some of the most troubling aquatic invasive species in the Northwest. So far, they haven’t made it past Washington’s Lake Roosevelt. Two dams stand in their way. And lots of people trying to stop them. If the fish make it past Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River, they could greatly harm imperiled salmon downstream. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/dead-whale-found-on-everett-beach/">A dead gray whale has washed up on an Everett beach </a></b><br />Beachgoers gathered around a 43-foot-long gray whale Monday, examining the barnacles on its back and the scars in its rubbery skin. The creature washed ashore Sunday near Harborview Park. The Everett Police Department and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife are planning to have the carcass towed at high tide on Tuesday to Camano Island, where it will be left to decompose, said Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He did not know the exact destination on Camano. Julia-Grace Sanders reports. (Everett Herald)<br /><br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;253 AM PDT Tue May 7 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: red;"><br />SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft building to 2 to 4 ft in the &nbsp;afternoon. W swell 4 ft at 8 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after &nbsp;midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after &nbsp;midnight. W swell 5 ft at 8 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-16660731350414256782019-05-06T07:38:00.000-07:002019-05-06T07:40:20.024-07:005/6 Cockle, Vic sewer, watching whales, Snake dams, killing sea lions, Whatcom rivers, Pebble Mine, Squamish housing, Everett riverfront, SJ spill threats, oil drilling safety, nature crisis, Sen. Doug Ericksen<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zeykEmZcNOc/XNBGeQ2NQpI/AAAAAAAAJk4/60nh5sX3KGYsur0jLcoU2lcjn0fu3KtSQCLcBGAs/s1600/cockel.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="370" height="220" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zeykEmZcNOc/XNBGeQ2NQpI/AAAAAAAAJk4/60nh5sX3KGYsur0jLcoU2lcjn0fu3KtSQCLcBGAs/s320/cockel.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nuttall's cockle [Alanah Nasadyk]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Nuttall's cockle</b> <i>Clingocardium nuttallii</i><br />Nuttall's cockle (Heart cockle) is found buried just beneath the surface of fine sand-gravel sediment, often among eelgrass beds. It inhabits the intertidal and shallow subtotal of protected shores. It is widespread and common but not usually present in high concentrations. Its range extends from Kamchatcka across the Bering Sea to Alaska and south to southern California. (Biodiversity of the Central Coast)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/victoria-sewage-treatment-plant-construction-regulations-1.5123974">After decades of debate, Victoria is building a sewage treatment plant </a></b><br />Along the rocky south coast of Vancouver Island, hundreds of construction workers are building a nearly $800 million dollar wastewater treatment facility — a project that has been debated for decades and described as long overdue by some, and completely unnecessary by others.... Wastewater facilities don't typically stoke civic pride, but the project and its history is unique because most of the Victoria area has never treated its sewage. Currently, it is screened and anything larger than 6mm is blocked. The rest flows into two separate outfall pipes, and is then discharged into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The region is the last major coastal community in North America to dispose of untreated sewage into the marine environment, according to the local government. Briar Stewart reports. (CBC)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/whale-watching-thrives-despite-plight-of-southern-resident-orcas/article_dc3208e6-4801-5c40-8222-2d9e228f5f8e.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Whale watching thrives, despite plight of Southern Resident orcas </a></b><br />Whale watching at its best means getting to see the region’s iconic orca whales, or maybe spotting minke, gray or humpback whales. At worst it means scanning the water for hours but seeing no whales. Despite its unpredictable nature, the prospect of seeing some of the Pacific Northwest’s largest wildlife continues to draw boatloads of whale watchers to the region, including those taking tours out of Anacortes. The Pacific Whale Watch Association estimates its members in Washington and British Columbia take about 500,000 passengers out on the water each year. Kimberly Cuavel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Orca-whales-survive-on-Chinook-salmon-Idaho-has-13814664.php">Orcas survive on chinook salmon, but dammed Idaho rivers spawn them </a></b><br />How we define our identity in this blessed corner of America's "Left Coast" is influenced by two enduring issues which must be solved -- recovery of salmon runs, and survival of the orcas which eat the salmon. The Pacific Northwest is any place to which a salmon can swim, a memorable thought from author Timothy Egan. With dams having decimated the Columbia River's once-mighty runs, we've spent $16 billion on salmon restoration in the past 20 years. "It's not working," Idaho's U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson said in a seminal speech delivered last month to a conference at the Andrus Center in Boise. Simpson, a Republican, shed light on the one real, long term solution to our problem of endangered salmon runs and the decline of southern resident killer whales. Salmon habitat must be restored. The best place to do it is on the Snake River. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/kill-sea-lions-salmon-columbia-river-rules/">New Rules Make It Easier To Kill Sea Lions On The Columbia River </a></b><br />The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced new criteria for putting California sea lions on the list for lethal removal at Bonneville Dam. The new rules could allow wildlife managers to kill more sea lions to protect salmon on the Columbia River. Under the old rules, before a sea lion at the dam could be killed, it had to be seen eating a salmon or steelhead and be seen in the area for five days. Sea lions were also subjected to hazing with noisemakers meant to scare them off. Cassandra Profita reports. (OPB)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article229880814.html">How $6.2 million could be used to help fish, protect Whatcom communities from floods </a></b><br />A $6.2 million infusion of state dollars will allow Whatcom County to move forward on a project to improve habitat in the Nooksack River as well as protect farms and communities from floodwaters. The money is part of the $50.4 million in grants the state Legislature is providing through the Floodplains by Design program, a public-private effort led by the Washington state Department of Ecology, Puget Sound Partnership and The Nature Conservancy that aims to restore the natural functions of the state’s rivers and floodplains. Healthy floodplains are important because they provide opportunities for recreation, help improve water quality, provide rich soil for farms, provide habitat for salmon and offer protection against flooding — provided rivers have a place to go and aren’t tightly constricted, proponents said. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/opinion/pebble-mine-alaska-trump.html">‘The Wrong Mine for the Wrong Place’ </a></b><br />A proposed Alaskan mine threatens the planet’s largest spawning ground for sockeye salmon and lays bare Trump's gaslighting of American sportsmen. Paul Greenberg, Mark Kurlansky, Carl Safina and John Waldman write about what's wrong with he proposed open-pit copper and gold Pebble Mine. (NY Times Opinion)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/housing-development-planned-on-squamish-land-in-heart-of-vancouver-1.5123728">Major housing development planned on Indigenous land in heart of Vancouver </a></b><br />Walking along the base of the Burrard Street Bridge that crosses Vancouver's False Creek toward the downtown core, Khelsilem gestures across a gravel lot poised to become one of the largest Indigenous urban developments in Canada. The Squamish Nation councillor, who also goes by the name Dustin Rivers, is standing on a pinched triangle of reserve land near the city's centre that the First Nation won back in 2002 after decades of legal battles. The project is in its very early stages but if all goes as planned, the Squamish Nation will build about 3,000 housing units in a project that promises to answer some of the region's urgent housing needs at the same time that it presents a test of reconciliation. Amy Smart reports. (CBC)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/everett/everett-approves-mixed-use-development-plan-for-riverfront/281-c300921f-de9a-4b88-b65f-d75a245ff123">Everett approves mixed-use development plan for riverfront </a></b><br />Everett City Council unanimously approved changes to its riverfront development plan Wednesday, allowing for construction to begin. Developers Riverfront Commercial Investment LLC plans to build a mixed-use development on the site of the former solid waste landfill. The development will include 230,000 square-feet of retail space, including a movie theater and specialty grocery store, 125,000 square feet of office space, 250 hotel rooms, and 1,250 condo or multi-family home units. Allison Sundell reports. (KING) <br /><br /><b>The Threat of a Large Oil Spill -- At What Cost to San Juan County</b><br />What would a large oil spill cost all of us?&nbsp; How long would it affect our communities, property values, businesses, and way of life? San Juan County's Environmental Resources Division and the Marine Resources Committee together with specialty consultants have completed an Oil Spill Consequences Assessment that estimates the catastrophic economic and ecosystem services losses that we would endure in the event of a large oil spill.&nbsp; A community presentation will be held on Wednesday May 8, 11 AM - 1 PM at the San Juan Island Grange in Friday Harbor. There will also be an online presentation via Webinar on Wednesday May 15, 12 PM – 1 PM.&nbsp; For more information and to download the reports please visit <a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.sjcmrc.org/projects/oil-spill-prevention/">www.sjcmrc.org/projects/oil-spill-prevention/.</a><br /><br /><b><a href="https://kuow.org/stories/trump-administration-moves-to-roll-back-offshore-drilling-safety-regulations">Trump Administration Moves To Roll Back Offshore Drilling Safety Regulations </a></b><br />The Trump Administration is rolling back some of the Obama-era safety regulations for offshore drilling that were meant to prevent a repeat of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The change pertains to rules aimed at keeping offshore oil and gas wells from "blowing out" – a sudden and uncontrollable release of crude oil. In its summary of the rule changes, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement says the "revisions modify regulations pertaining to offshore oil and gas drilling, completions, workovers, and decommissioning ... to ensure safety and environmental protection, while correcting errors and reducing certain unnecessary regulatory burdens imposed under the existing regulations." (NPR)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48169783">Nature crisis: Humans 'threaten 1m species with extinction' </a></b><br />On land, in the seas, in the sky, the devastating impact of humans on nature is laid bare in a compelling UN report. One million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. Nature everywhere is declining at a speed never previously seen and our need for ever more food and energy are the main drivers. These trends can be halted, the study says, but it will take "transformative change" in every aspect of how humans interact with nature. Matt McGrath reports. (BBC)<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/state-sen-doug-ericksens-500000-contract-from-autocratic-cambodian-regime-draws-condemnation-scrutiny/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">State Sen. Doug Ericksen's $500,000 contract with autocratic Cambodian regime draws scrutiny, condemnation&nbsp; </a></b><br />....[Senator Doug Ericksen's, R-Ferndale} parlaying of his elected position into a business relationship with the authoritarian Hun Sen regime is attracting condemnation from human-rights activists, local Cambodian Americans, exiled leaders of Cambodia’s opposition party and even a Republican congressman. U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill seeking sanctions against Cambodian leaders over human-rights abuses, blistered Ericksen’s assessment of the country’s elections.... Ericksen, who tapped surplus campaign funds to pay for some of his Cambodia travel, has defended the contract as a legitimate second job for a part-time state legislator. According to PacRim’s federal filings, the firm will be paid $41,660 a month to meet with state and federal officials “to promote improved relations between the USA and the Kingdom of Cambodia and legislation that promotes improved relations.” Jim Brunner and Joseph O'Sullivan report. (Seattle Times)<br /><br /><br /><b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <b><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;239 AM PDT Mon May 6 2019</span></b>&nbsp;&nbsp; <b><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></b>&nbsp;Light wind becoming N to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind &nbsp;waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 8 seconds.&nbsp; <b><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></b>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell &nbsp;5 ft at 8 seconds. <br /><br />-- <br />"Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /><br /><b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /><br /><a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a>Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-12161579826747317802019-05-03T07:49:00.001-07:002019-05-03T07:49:42.382-07:005/3 Virginia rail, culverts, Illabot Cr., green gains, BC pipe appeal, Kids on Beach, Poo & Pee, mystery mounds, 'salmon-safe' Shoreline<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0fuQFwt9XeU/XMxU41fqyEI/AAAAAAAAJkc/JQa6-F-mDPgtYzIUTmgtwazT4ojGBhzRwCLcBGAs/s1600/VirginaRail_BrianSmall_Audubon.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="380" height="251" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0fuQFwt9XeU/XMxU41fqyEI/AAAAAAAAJkc/JQa6-F-mDPgtYzIUTmgtwazT4ojGBhzRwCLcBGAs/s320/VirginaRail_BrianSmall_Audubon.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virginia rail [Brian Small/Audubon]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Virginia Rail</b> <i>Rallus limicola</i> <br />The Virginia Rail is a medium-sized bird of both fresh and salt water marshes. It has a long, slightly decurved bill and a short, upturned tail. Virginia Rails are found primarily in freshwater marshes and less often in brackish marshes. They prefer a mixture of emergent vegetation and flooded openings where insects are abundant.... In western Washington, breeding birds are found in lower-elevation fresh water marshes and some brackish marshes along the Puget Trough west to Ocean Shores. Virginia Rails are very secretive birds that are more likely to be heard than seen. They are most active and visible at dawn and dusk. (BirdWeb/Seattle Audubon)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/washington-state-budget-scrimps-on-replacing-salmon-blocking-culverts/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=mobile-app&amp;utm_campaign=ios">State budget scrimps on replacing salmon-blocking culverts </a></b><br />Washington faces a federal court order to fix under-roadway pipes that block migrating fish by 2030, but a budget passed by lawmakers puts the state at risk of missing the deadline and could delay salmon recovery even as the Pacific Northwest’s endangered orcas are starving. The Legislature’s two-year transportation budget, approved last weekend, devotes $100 million to fixing culverts — large pipes that allow streams to flow under roadways, but can prevent salmon from reaching their spawning grounds. The $100 million is about one-third of what Gov. Jay Inslee requested, and far less than what many — including some lawmakers, state officials, conservationists and Native American tribes — agree is necessary. Gene Johnson reports. (Associated Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/illabot-creek-project-receives-award/article_bc1dbb14-a961-5efa-83fe-6fb837cbec24.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Illabot Creek project receives award </a></b><br />The Illabot Creek restoration project that was completed in September recently received an award from the state chapter of the American Public Works Association. The project restored the creek between Rockport and Marblemount to multiple winding channels where it had previously been straightened. The project, done in the area where the creek passes under Rockport Cascade Road, received the honor of 2019 Project of the Year for endeavors under $5 million, according to a Skagit County news release. The creek received federal designation in 2014 under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.invw.org/2019/05/03/environmentalists-win-historic-gains-in-legislature-despite-a-few-stumbles/">Environmentalists win historic gains in Legislature despite a few stumbles </a></b><br />Environmentalists scored big victories — of historic size, especially on climate-change — but also suffered a few significant setbacks at the Washington Legislature’s 2019 session. Big Oil sustained one significant loss but also pulled off a perhaps unlikely major win given the political winds. And the winners also include the insurance industry, which was able to head off extra fees on insurance policies to fund efforts to reduce the threat of wildfires. The greens’ political wins clearly outweighed the losses — especially on clean energy policies and most legislation proposed to protect dwindling salmon runs and save endangered Puget Sound orca whales. Brad Shannon reports. (Investigate West)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/trans-mountain-burnaby-appeal-1.5119847">Supreme Court of Canada won't hear City of Burnaby's Trans Mountain pipeline appeal </a></b><br />The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the City of Burnaby's appeal fighting the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. The city was appealing part of a decision from the Federal Court of Appeal, which halted work on the project last August. Construction was suspended after that court found First Nations were not adequately consulted before the project was approved in 2016, and that the National Energy Board (NEB) failed to consider the marine shipping impacts of such a project. The City of Burnaby supported the federal court's decision, but filed leave to appeal the ruling in October because it wanted additional requirements imposed on the NEB mandated by the court before the project would be allowed to move forward. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/kids-on-the-beach-program-expands/article_f9ec0e7c-a5dd-5f44-8a6c-7ce21e3adf4c.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Kids on the Beach program expands </a></b><br />Despite a chilly breeze Thursday, the beach at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s Lone Tree Point was bustling with activity. La Conner Middle School students collected water samples, netted and identified marine creatures, sifted beach material and used microscopes to peer at forage fish eggs. They were on the beach as part of the Skagit Marine Resource Committee’s Kids on the Beach program, which is led by Mira Castle of the nonprofit SeaDoc Society and volunteers from various programs. Now in its second year, the program includes eighth graders from two school districts: La Conner and Conway. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pee-poo-costumes-1.5119107">Meet Poo and Pee. Metro Vancouver introduces mascots in campaign against improper flushing&nbsp; </a></b><br />The regional government of Canada's third-largest metropolitan area has launched a video campaign introducing mascots Poo and Pee to drive home a message about improper flushing. The costumed mascots are part of Metro Vancouver's annual Unflushables campaign to remind people about items that should not be flushed because they can clog city sewers and your pipes. Problem items that can lead to trouble with municipal and residential pipes when flushed include dental floss, hair, paper towels, tampons and applicators, as well as condoms, according to the regional government. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/mystery-mounds-explained/">Mystery mounds along the freeway explained! </a></b><br />It’s hard to miss the mounds. The huge ones. They rise up from the floodplain east of I-5 between downtown Everett and Marysville. At least a couple of stories high, they’re about a quarter-mile apart and 150 feet wide. The two most obvious piles of dirt have puzzled more than a few passersby. With steep slopes that level off to a flat tabletop, they look a little like giant motocross jumps. Or perhaps part of a future freeway off-ramp to nowhere. They aren’t. We can debunk those theories. The Port of Everett, working with a private company, has been stockpiling the clean fill dirt for an upcoming habitat project in the Snohomish River estuary. It’s similar to restoration efforts the Tulalip Tribes, Snohomish County and the city of Everett have carried out to either side. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/orcas/shoreline-becomes-1st-salmon-safe-city-in-washington/281-4415b611-f5ed-4171-bbce-cff4aa47a172">Shoreline is the first city in Washington state to become "salmon-safe" certified. </a></b><br />They're second in the nation to receive the certification, with Portland leading the way. But it didn't happen without its share of mistakes and lessons learned. Shoreline's new City Hall building was meant to be a beacon of environmental advocacy. It's energy efficient, produces solar power, and even has rain gardens to trap stormwater. Alison Morrow reports. (KING)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your weekend tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;245 AM PDT Fri May 3 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft &nbsp;at 15 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind &nbsp;waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 14 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT</span></strong>&nbsp;Light wind becoming W to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind &nbsp;waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 13 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT NIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell &nbsp;5 ft at 13 seconds building to 7 ft at 9 seconds after midnight.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SUN</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. &nbsp;Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 7 ft at 9 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-85659815370908067202019-05-02T07:56:00.001-07:002019-05-02T07:56:27.160-07:005/2 Zoanthid, wildfire season, Laura Blackmore, grey whale migration, invasives, chinook season, oil reserves<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5zMgOsaLBMY/XMsE3o0AwYI/AAAAAAAAJkQ/en4--_NLus4TDnbeGy94VsCfFlgeuCJlACLcBGAs/s1600/Yellow%2Bzoanthid.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="332" height="269" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5zMgOsaLBMY/XMsE3o0AwYI/AAAAAAAAJkQ/en4--_NLus4TDnbeGy94VsCfFlgeuCJlACLcBGAs/s320/Yellow%2Bzoanthid.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow zoanthid [Jim Nestler/Walla Walla U]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Yellow zoanthid</b> <i>Epizoanthus scotinus</i><br />This anemone-like cnidarian lives in groups, with individuals connected to one another at the base by a sheet of tissue to make a clonal colony.&nbsp; The column of individuals may have embedded sand or other material.&nbsp; Subtidal.&nbsp; Color tan, light yellow, or brown, with light yellow or white tentacles (paler than the column).&nbsp; Height to about 5 cm, diameter to about 2 cm.&nbsp; Colony may be 1-2 m wide. These individuals reproduce asexually by budding, thus adding to the colony.&nbsp; They can also reproduce sexually.&nbsp; These animals may take several hours to expand again if they are stimulated to contract. (Walla Walla University)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/state/article229909114.html">Forecast calls for busy wildfire season along West Coast </a></b><br />Most of the country can expect a normal wildfire season but residents along the West Coast of the United States should be ready for another busy season, the National Interagency Fire Center said Wednesday. California experienced its deadliest and largest wildfires in the past two years, including a fire in the northern part of the state last year that destroyed the town of Paradise, killing more than 80 people. It was the nation's worst death toll from a wildfire in a century. The Boise, Idaho-based center said a heavy crop of grasses and fine fuels has developed across California and should elevate fire potential as it dries through the summer. Nicholas Geranios reports. (Associated Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.kxly.com/news/gov-inslee-appoints-new-executive-director-of-puget-sound-partnership/1074396638">Gov. Inslee appoints new executive director of Puget Sound Partnership </a></b><br />Governor Jay Inslee appointed a new executive director to the Puget Sound Partnership on Wednesday. Laura Blackmore has been with the Puget Sound Partnership since 2015, and currently holds the title of deputy director and tribal liaison. Blackmore worked for Cascadia Consulting, Inc. prior to her time at the Partnership, and also has experience as a water quality planner for the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.... Blackmore’s appointment begins Saturday, May 4.&nbsp; Emily Oliver reports. (KLXY)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/grey-whales-stranded-west-coast-1.5119056">Dozens of grey whales washing up dead along migration route — and B.C. is their next stop </a></b><br />An unusually high number of grey whales are washing up dead on West Coast shorelines on their annual migration north and B.C. is the next stop, warns a U.S.-based marine biologist. More than 20 grey whales were stranded ashore in California this spring, and, further north along the coast in Oregon, several more have washed up recently. Eleven whales were recently stranded in Washington state. Only one survived. Clare Hennig reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/as-global-shipping-grows-prepare-for-a-surge-of-invasive-species/">As Global Shipping Grows, Prepare for a Surge of Invasive Species </a></b><br />Invasive species have long spread across the world by ship, often with disastrous effects. Now Anthony Sardain, an invasion ecologist at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, expects the risk of marine invasions to rise three- to 20-fold in the next 30 years. The idea came to Sardain in the summer of 2015 as he sailed with his father, a commodity market analyst, off the coast of Brittany, France. As they discussed how China’s emergence as a superpower might impact global trade, Sardain realized that previous research on marine invasive species typically assumed global trade would remain constant. But shipping is expected to change on a global scale. Sardain and his colleagues set out to forecast how this might affect where marine species are being introduced. Charles Q. Choi reports. (Hakai Magazine)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/this-is-all-optical-sport-fishers-slam-dfo-s-chinook-closures-1.5119270">'This is all optical': sport fishers slam DFO's chinook closures </a></b><br />Recreational fishers are criticizing Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) for its sweeping restrictions on chinook salmon fishing, claiming that less than one per cent of the chinook caught last year by sport anglers throughout the region belonged to at-risk stocks. More than 100 protesters surrounded federal Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson's constituency office in North Vancouver on Wednesday calling the recent closures a political move that will have little impact on the overall health of chinook populations. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.popsci.com/how-much-oil-earth-has-left">It's hard to know how much oil we have left, but this is our best guess </a></b><br />The pockets of oil trapped between Earth’s strata are finite, at least on a human time scale. It takes millennia of immense pressure and heat to transform ancient remains into fossil fuels. Economists and geologists are still ­debating when, whether, and how we’ll run out­—the answer is a ­moving target. In the meantime, here’s our best guess as to how much of Earth’s milkshake we’ve got left to drink. Jennifer Lu reports. (Popular Science)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;618 AM PDT Thu May 2 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft &nbsp;at 7 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 11 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-3737157715375268712019-05-01T07:39:00.002-07:002019-05-01T07:39:33.436-07:005/1 Trillium, gas fight, pipeline protester, wildfires, Fraser salmon, moving Hamilton, dam projects, food and climate, anti-Semitic rise<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0ck8s6_RBU/XMmvXlfyALI/AAAAAAAAJkE/VXAHo5tF5lcNXVds9PuMYgvVA9sobfveQCLcBGAs/s1600/WesternTrillium.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="402" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0ck8s6_RBU/XMmvXlfyALI/AAAAAAAAJkE/VXAHo5tF5lcNXVds9PuMYgvVA9sobfveQCLcBGAs/s320/WesternTrillium.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western trillium [Walter Siegmund]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Western trillium</b> <i>Trillium ovatum</i><br />Genus and common names come from the Latin <i>trillium</i> meaning 'in 3s,' referring to the leaves, petals, sepals and stigmas. The flower blooms early in the spring (March to May), just as the robins appear or 'wake up,' giving rise to the alternative common name 'wake-robin.' (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-ready-for-court-battle-as-alberta-proclaims-turn-off-the-taps-law">B.C. ready for court battle as Alberta proclaims turn-off-the-taps law </a></b><br />Alberta has proclaimed a law that allows it to slow the flow of oil and gas to B.C. For its part, the B.C. government says it is ready to fight in court right away. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s new cabinet was sworn in Tuesday and immediately held its first meeting. Kenney, in an opinion piece addressed specifically to British Columbians in Wednesday’s <i>Vancouver Sun</i>, said cabinet at that meeting proclaimed into law Bill 12, the Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act.&nbsp; The law gives the Alberta government the power to impose licences on companies exporting petroleum products and place restrictions on licence holders. It gives the province the power to limit the allowable daily quantities of petroleum products shipped, the method of shipment and point of export, and length of time a licence is in effect. Nick Eagland reports. (Vancouver Sun)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/pipeline-protesting-grandad-in-tree-may-be-arrested">Pipeline protesting grandpa arrested after climbing down tree </a></b><br />Ontario grandfather Terry Christenson, who climbed a tree Monday to protest the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, ended his protest Tuesday and was promptly arrested by Burnaby RCMP. It’s not the first arrest for the 71-year-old man who was arrested last year for camping in a tree at Burnaby’s Westridge Marine Terminal to protest the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. Christenson camped out in the tree inside the Westridge terminal for 34 hours. A court-ordered injunction remains in place against the protesters. Tiffany Crawford reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://kuow.org/stories/snow-melts-anxiety-soars-wildfire-season-is-here">Snow melts, anxiety soars: Wildfire season is here </a></b><br />Dry conditions this spring have put many people in north central Washington on edge. As wildfires become more frequent and intense, the disappearance of snow now ushers in a season of higher anxiety for those who have experienced the destruction of wildfire. And this spring feels particularly ominous, with water levels in ponds and lakes already exposing bathtub rings of pale earth that wouldn’t normally be visible until the end of the dry summer months. Ashley Ahearn reports. (KUOW)<br /><br /> <b><a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/how-scientists-are-giving-fraser-river-salmon-a-fresh-chance/">How scientists are giving Fraser River salmon a fresh chance </a></b><br />A subtle transformation to a century-old jetty is giving new hope to recovery efforts for the fish and their No. 1 predator, the endangered southern resident killer whale Judith Lavoie reports. (The Narwhal)<br /><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Hamilton-in-Skagit-County-to-be-relocated-for-13807967.php">Town of Hamilton in Skagit County to be relocated -- for salmon and safety </a></b><br />The center of the historic town of Hamilton in the Skagit Valley is soon to be moved out of the river's way, so its residents will not have to dig out of periodic floods and salmon can use the meandering river and slough to grow up before going to sea. "The rivers were how people and goods were moved around," said Joan Cromley, mayor of Hamilton, explaining how her town was settled in the 19th Century. "After a flood, we dig out and move forward." But, Cromley worried Tuesday, "Hamilton is slowly dying, and the next flood could wipe us out." The town has found a benefactor in Forterra, the land/culture conservancy which has protected places from the Olympic Coast to downtown Tukwila to hills in the Kittitas Valley. Forterra has used a $1 million bequest to help Hamilton move, buying dry ground above the flood plain for a new town center. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI)<br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/orcas/dam-projects-on-washington-rivers-will-restore-miles-of-salmon-habitat/281-90cae09c-3e09-4845-9efc-67448acbcac1?fbclid=IwAR1azTYc4XUhPY_6tSh2rpxoFaUJKEd5fnWKH_XdqXSmt4akV4eUG6A-UYw">Dam projects on Washington rivers will restore miles of salmon habitat </a></b><br />Hundreds of miles of river habitat are cut off to salmon because of dams and culverts around western Washington. Dealing with fish passage is a focus for Washington officials trying to produce more Chinook salmon for Southern Resident killer whales. Removing a dam on the middle fork of the Nooksack River is personal for Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville. "My dad was a commercial fisherman who ended up owning a fish processing plant up in Blaine," Linville said. The dam, built to divert the river for Bellingham's drinking water, cuts off salmon habitat. Alison Morrow reports. (KING)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/30/dining/climate-change-food-eating-habits.html">Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered </a></b><br />How to shop, cook and eat in a warming world. Julia Moskin, Brad Plumer, Rebecca Lieberman and Eden Weingart report. (NY Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://crosscut.com/2019/04/graffiti-slurs-swastikas-anti-semitic-incidents-are-rise-wa">Graffiti, slurs, swastikas — anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise in WA </a></b><br />Anti-Semitic incidents in Washington state have increased by 60 percent over last year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Lilly Fowler reports. (Crosscut) See also: <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/audit-shows-anti-semitism-skyrocketing-in-b-c">Audit shows anti-Semitism skyrocketing in B.C.&nbsp;</a></b> There were 165 antisemitic incidents in B.C. in 2017. The total has ballooned to 374 in 2018. Mike Raptis reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /><br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;314 AM PDT Wed May 1 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming W 10 to 20 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves less than 1 ft becoming 1 to 3 ft in the &nbsp;afternoon. W swell 3 ft at 7 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell &nbsp;3 ft at 9 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-3306032653332152372019-04-30T07:55:00.002-07:002019-04-30T07:55:46.180-07:004/30 Trout, Cooke Aqua, plastic no-ban, dam removal, BC trees, food climate, BC pipe protest, Trump's clean water, refinery safety, gas price gouge, tribe fishing sites, oilsands bacteria, river person, spy hop whale<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yoibqcR5CZE/XMhh3SU9fUI/AAAAAAAAJj4/VH_Y6HwPhcwWRRwUA9rRrB7qlb-pXUawgCLcBGAs/s1600/Rainbow%2Btrout_BBC.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="328" height="174" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yoibqcR5CZE/XMhh3SU9fUI/AAAAAAAAJj4/VH_Y6HwPhcwWRRwUA9rRrB7qlb-pXUawgCLcBGAs/s320/Rainbow%2Btrout_BBC.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow trout [BBC]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Rainbow trout</b> <i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i><br />Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same species, but rainbow are freshwater only, and steelhead are anadromous, or go to sea. Unlike most salmon, steelhead can survive spawning, and can spawn in multiple years. Rainbow trout are the most common and hence most popular species of trout in Washington. There are thousands of wild populations statewide but the main reason for their popularity is that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks millions of rainbow trout every year across the state for the specific purpose of providing recreational angling opportunities. Rainbow trout are an excellent game fish for their willingness to bite bait and lures, their scrappy nature when on the end of a fishing line, and the fact that they are excellent table fare. Steelhead are also highly regarded game fish and the steelhead is the state fish of Washington. (WDFW)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/cooke-aquaculture-agrees-to-pay-332000-fine-after-net-pen-failure/281-4d302fb7-275a-4c1b-ae2a-6e4ee4534a54">Cooke Aquaculture agrees to pay $332,000 fine after net pen failure </a></b><br />Cooke Aquaculture has agreed to pay the $332,000 fine for the negligent release of thousands of Atlantic salmon in August 2017, the state Department of Ecology announced Monday. The department says Cooke tried to appeal the penalty, "but in a legal settlement with Ecology, agreed to pay the full penalty." The settlement will divide the $332,000 payment, according to the department -- $265,600 to "an environmental project related to regional salmon enhancements or habitat restoration" and $66,400 to Ecology's Coastal Protection Fund. (KING) See also: <b><a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/puget-sound-salmon-farm-dealt-loss-in-clean-water-act-case">Puget Sound Salmon Farm Dealt Loss in Clean Water Act Case&nbsp;</a></b> The Wild Fish Conservancy proved four of five Clean Water Act claims against an aquaculture operator stemming from the 2017 collapse of a Puget Sound salmon pen, a federal court ruled. Steven M. Sellers reports. (Bloomberg Environment)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/straw-ban-postpone-vancouver-1.5115905">Vancouver to postpone ban on straws, Styrofoam and other single-use items </a></b><br />With Styrofoam takeout containers, plastic straws and disposable coffee cups everywhere in the food industry, the speed of the move to ban single-use items in Vancouver is running into resistance. Last May, the city voted to eliminate these kind of single-use items as part of the Zero Waste 2040 strategy and was set to introduce a ban on June 1. But at a meeting Monday night, council approved a recommendation by city staff that the ban be postponed until April 2020. Clare Hennig reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/washington-budget-snake-river-dam-removal-study/">Washington Budget Funds Group To Study Snake River Dam Removal </a></b><br />Tucked into Washington’s $52.4 billion operating budget passed Sunday night by the Legislature is controversial funding for a “stakeholder group” tasked with looking into what would happen should the four Lower Snake River dams be removed or altered. Supporters say this group will make sure Washingtonian’s voices are heard in the often contentious conversation around dam removal. Critics say the effort is a waste of time and money – too similar to a discussion already happening at the federal level. Gov. Jay Inslee had asked for $750,000, following the recommendations of the state’s Southern Resident Orca Task Force, a group created by the governor to find ways to save the orcas. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-forestry-watchdog-highlights-major-weaknesses-and-gaps-in-report-1.5114244">B.C. forestry watchdog highlights 'major weaknesses and gaps' in report </a></b><br />British Columbia's forestry watchdog says there are "major weaknesses and gaps" in the way the province enforces logging rules and protects its natural resources. Last week the B.C. Forest Practices Board issued a report that highlights the challenges regarding enforcement for the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act, which govern logging and other forestry activities in B.C. Kevin Kriese, the watchdog's board chair, says one of his primary concerns is that natural resource officers, who are tasked with enforcing B.C. forestry laws, don't have time to proactively monitor logging operations before a problem occurs. Maryse Zeidler reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/dining/farming-climate-change.html">From Apples to Popcorn, Climate Change Is Altering the Foods America Grows </a></b><br />The impact may not yet be obvious in grocery stores and greenmarkets, but behind the organic apples and bags of rice and cans of cherry pie filling are hundreds of thousands of farmers, plant breeders and others in agriculture who are scrambling to keep up with climate change. Drop a pin anywhere on a map of the United States and you’ll find disruption in the fields. Warmer temperatures are extending growing seasons in some areas and sending a host of new pests into others. Some fields are parched with drought, others so flooded that they swallow tractors. Kim Severson reports. (NY Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/protester-71-once-again-climbs-tree-to-stop-trans-mountain-pipeline-expansion">Protester, 71, climbs tree to stop Trans Mountain pipeline expansion </a></b><br />A 71-year-old man who was arrested last year for camping in a tree at Burnaby’s Westridge marine terminal to protest the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion — has once again climbed a tree at the site. Terry Christenson, an Ontario grandfather of two, scaled the tree inside the terminal Monday morning and erected a mid-air camp to protest the proposed twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline. “I’m doing this for all of the grandchildren of the world. Climate change is an issue that will impact my grandchildren much more than it will impact me,” Christenson said in a news release. “Canada is already on the path to clean energy and we must continue to diversify our economy — not build more dirty pipelines. I’m here today to ensure Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hears this message loud and clear.” Scott Brown reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://crosscut.com/2019/04/trump-order-threatens-was-environmental-authority">Trump order threatens WA's environmental authority </a></b><br />Washington state blocked what would have been the largest bulk coal terminal in the country. Trump's change to the Clean Water Act might make that harder in the future.<br />Carl Segerstrom reports. (High Country News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/groups-to-hold-forum-on-oil-refinery-safety/article_3dd9a455-b2e4-54de-9e02-7bd59a401318.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Groups to hold forum on oil refinery safety </a></b><br />Environmental and labor groups will hold a public forum on oil refinery safety at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2. The presentation at the Burlington Community Center, 1011 Greenleaf Ave., will be hosted by United Steelworkers, the BlueGreen Alliance, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities and Evergreen Islands. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/big-oil-refiners-from-alberta-price-gouging-b-c-customers-says-think-tank">Big oil refiners from Alberta price-gouging B.C. customers: Think-tank </a></b><br />Alberta’s oil industry is raking in “excess profits” by price-gouging B.C. customers, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Marc Lee, an economist at the CCPA and the author of the report, says: “Turn off the taps? Alberta already has Vancouver over a barrel,” and taxes aren’t to blame for record-high pump prices here — “Big Oil” in Alberta is. Lee’s report found Vancouver motorists are paying oil-refiners 20-30 cents more per litre than are customers in Calgary and Toronto. They’re also paying far more than they did just a decade ago. Suncor, Parkland Fuel and Imperial Oil, refiners that were specifically named by Lee, referred Postmedia News to the Canadian Fuels Association, an industry group to which all companies belong. Shell didn’t respond to a request for comment. Matt Robinson reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /> <i>If you like to watch</i>: <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/video/news/local/creek-turned-dumping-ground-restored-for-salmon-in-west-seattle/281-4eb102f7-eb16-4a0a-be07-8c636527779e">Creek turned 'dumping ground' restored for salmon in West Seattle </a></b><br />KING 5 Environmental Reporter Alison Morrow [goes]to West Seattle to show a creek that has gone from drainage ditch to salmon habitat. [KING]<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/house-passes-bill-to-improve-tribal-fishing-sites/">U.S. House Passes Bill To Improve Tribal Fishing Sites </a></b><br />On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide $11 million to improve unsafe and unsanitary living conditions at tribal fishing sites on the Columbia River.Over time, the federal government created 31 in-lieu fishing sites for Native American tribes to make up for the land that was flooded when the Columbia River dams were built. The tribes were also promised new housing to replace what was lost. But that promise still hasn’t been fulfilled. In the meantime, many tribal fishermen have created makeshift residences at the in-lieu fishing sites. Cassandra Profita reports. (OPB)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/chemical-eating-bacteria-a-tiny-solution-for-the-oilsands-big-problem">Chemical-eating bacteria could solve the oilsands’ big problem </a></b><br />UBC engineers are using directed evolution and genomic tools to encourage naturally occurring bacteria to eat the toxins in oilsands tailings ponds. Field trials on a “consortium” of bacteria that thrive on naphthenic acids are set to begin this summer in northeastern Alberta with a major oilsands bitumen producer. Heated water pumped into the ground to loosen the gooey bitumen absorbs dozens of different toxins, which require a huge amount of energy to remove, said Vikram Yadav, a professor of chemical and biological engineering. Bitumen can be processed into gasoline and other fuels in much the same way as conventional crude oil. While much of the water used in the process can be recycled, there are vast ponds full of contaminated water, silt and sand recovered from the extraction of bitumen. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/587689/river-me/">How a River Was Granted Personhood </a></b><br />For more than 700 years, the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, fought to maintain their spiritual connection to the Whanganui River. Mostly, it was a losing battle: Rapids were dynamited, gravel was extracted, and water was drained and polluted. Promises were broken. Generations of Maori looked on as awa tupua—their river of sacred power—was treated as a means to an end or, worse, as a dumping ground. Then, in 2017, something unprecedented happened. The New Zealand government granted the Whanganui River legal personhood—a status that is in keeping with the Maori worldview that the river is a living entity. The legislation, which has yet to be codified into domestic law, refers to the river as an “indivisible, living whole,” conferring it “all the rights, powers, duties, and liabilities” of an individual. Emily Buder reports. (The Atlantic)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48090616">Norway finds 'Russian spy whale' off Arctic coast </a></b><br />A beluga whale found off Norway's coast wearing a special Russian harness was probably trained by the Russian navy, a Norwegian expert says. Marine biologist Prof Audun Rikardsen said the harness had a GoPro camera holder and a label sourcing it to St Petersburg. A Norwegian fisherman managed to remove it from the whale. He said a Russian fellow scientist had told him that it was not the sort of kit that Russian scientists would use. Russia has a naval base in the region. The tame beluga repeatedly approached Norwegian boats off Ingoya, an Arctic island about 415km (258 miles) from Murmansk, where Russia's Northern Fleet is based. Belugas are native to Arctic waters. (BBC)<br /><br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;250 AM PDT Mon Apr 29 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft &nbsp;at 10 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind &nbsp;waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 11 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-40565450956466633752019-04-29T07:52:00.000-07:002019-04-29T07:52:03.477-07:004/29 Survive the Sound, WA budget, sea stars, bald eagle, Pebble Mine, Skagit chinook, ghost nets, crab pile, water system woes, Boat Haven stormwater, BC pipe, Seaworld data, spotted owl chicks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CwZ9K0Ra5Y8/XMcPVibuPmI/AAAAAAAAJjs/Nq4OKvQQv2UlL_nIDkoGTjXkIrKMK89CACLcBGAs/s1600/SurviveTheSound%2Blogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="398" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CwZ9K0Ra5Y8/XMcPVibuPmI/AAAAAAAAJjs/Nq4OKvQQv2UlL_nIDkoGTjXkIrKMK89CACLcBGAs/s1600/SurviveTheSound%2Blogo.png" /></a></div><b><a href="https://www.survivethesound.org/home"></a></b><br /><a name='more'></a><b><a href="https://www.survivethesound.org/home">Time to Survive The Sound </a></b><br /> <i>Survive the Sound</i> is an interactive online game where students and the general public are invited to follow their favorite fish character as it migrates through Puget Sound. The game uses real data collected as part of Long Live The Kings’s research efforts to tell the story of imperiled steelhead migrating in early May and the challenges they face. During the journey, everyone develops a deeper connection to their local environment, encouraging them to take action to protect it. Educators! <a href="https://www.survivethesound.org/classroom">Go to the classroom page</a>. All others! Sign on and play on. <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.thenewstribune.com/latest-news/article229782974.html">House and Senate Democrats reach agreement on raising local school levy lid and Legislature approves two-year $52.4 billion budget to beat midnight deadline </a></b><br />On the final night of the 105-day legislative session, the House and Senate on Sunday approved a bill to enable public schools to raise more money from local property taxes. Both chambers adopted the two-year, $52.4 billion state operating budget that boosts spending on K-12, higher education, and mental health and includes more than $800 million in new revenue. The Legislature also approved Initiative 1000 to allow the use of affirmative action policies in education, government employment and contracting. It replaces the voter-approved ban on affirmative action passed in 1998. James Drew reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://kuow.org/stories/best-day-ever-recovering-sea-stars-bring-joy-to-scientist">'Best day ever.' Scientist celebrates recovering sea stars </a></b><br />Earlier this week, a scientist in the San Juan Islands tweeted: “Best day ever." What triggered her joy? Sea stars. Hundreds of healthy, colorful sea stars. A few years ago, a mysterious disease started killing multiple species of sea stars along the West Coast at devastating rates. This was concerning to scientists because sea stars are voracious predators — they are able to control populations of other sea creatures like mussels, clams and urchins. But some sea stars in the Pacific Northwest appear to be recovering. A species known as ochre sea stars, the orange and purple ones you might have spotted at low tide, seem to be stabilizing around the San Juan Islands. Kate Walters reports. (KUOW)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lisa-bell-vancouver-island-bald-eagle-injury-1.5114306">Vancouver Island woman injured in bald eagle mishap </a></b><br />It was a party of two that crashed onto Lisa Bell's lap that left her surprised and hurt. The Vancouver Island amateur photographer says she was taking photos of two bald eagles cavorting in mid-air near Bowser B.C. on Vancouver Island Friday when the pair fell from the sky, landed on her and inadvertently scratched and punctured her body with their talons. "They connected and came down," she said. "I'm really lucky it could have been a whole lot worse." (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.knkx.org/post/businesses-bristol-bay-issue-plea-seattle-suspend-permitting-pebble-mine">Businesses for Bristol Bay issue a plea from Seattle: suspend permitting on Pebble Mine </a></b><br />More than 200 businesses — including many in Washington state — are calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to suspend permitting for the controversial Pebble Mine project. The proposed mine would be located in the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, in Bristol Bay Alaska. The group, Businesses for Bristol Bay, released a letter with the demand at a press conference in Seattle, held outside Chef Tom Douglas’ Seatown Market Diner. They were there to make a point: that interests affected by the Pebble Mine include everything from commercial and sport fishing and recreation companies to outfitters, seafood processors and restaurants. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/environment/skagit-river-chinook-fishery-to-open-wednesday/article_02316f13-816d-5cd1-aece-4ab5cf0aa513.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Skagit River chinook fishery to open Wednesday </a></b><br />A chinook salmon fishery is set to open Wednesday on the lower Skagit River for the first time in nearly 30 years. The state Department of Fish &amp; Wildlife announced Monday that a spring fishery for hatchery chinook will be open through May. From May 1-31, anglers can catch and keep up to two hatchery chinook caught in the area from the Memorial Highway Bridge in Mount Vernon to Gilligan Creek southeast of Sedro-Woolley, according to a news release. State and tribal fishery co-managers recently agreed to open the fishery this year based on the number of wild and hatchery chinook forecast to return to the river. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.eopugetsound.org/magazine/ghost-nets">Ghost nets still fishing in the deep waters of Puget Sound </a></b><br />Lost and abandoned fishing nets, which have destroyed millions of sea creatures in Puget Sound, still lurk in deeper, darker waters, where they continue to catch fish and crabs. But the quiet, unregulated killing has been quelled substantially since 2002, as divers have pulled up nearly 6,000 of these so-called “ghost nets.” The challenge for the future is to find and quickly remove newly lost nets, while going after the difficult-to-remove nets still fishing in more than 100 feet of water. Programs are moving forward on both fronts. Chris Dunagan reports. (Salish Sea Currents)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/second-pile-of-rotting-dungeness-crabs-found-in-northwestern-b-c">Second big pile of rotting Dungeness crabs found in northwestern B.C. </a></b><br />A pile of rotting, illegally-dumped crabs has been found in northwestern British Columbia and officials believe it is linked to a similar, smelly discovery in the same region earlier this month. Fisheries and Oceans Canada spokeswoman Leri Davies says a public tip led officials last week to the pile of about 200 Dungeness crabs not far from the Skeena River, west of Hazelton. Given their state of decay, Davies says investigators are confident the decomposing crustaceans are related to about 250 crabs dumped east of the village on April 2. (Canadian Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/non-band-residents-pass-on-50k-bill-to-stay-on-semiahmoo-reserve-1.5111486">Non-band residents choose to leave rather than pay $50K to stay on Semiahmoo reserve </a></b><br />For nearly three decades, Naomi Mitchell has heated her home with firewood, hauling chopped logs from outside to her wood stove. At nearly 80-years-old, it takes a bit of effort, but she still prefers her quaint home on the Semiahmoo reserve over the alternative....But after 30 years, her time there is coming to an end — and she says it's not by choice. Mitchell is one of more than 30 non-band members living on the Semiahmoo First Nation lands — located just south of White Rock near the U.S. border — who will leave by mid-June after receiving a $50,000 bill to connect their homes to a new clean water system. Residents were confronted with a tough decision: pay up, or move out. None chose to foot the bill. Jon Hernandez reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/port-of-port-townsend-turns-down-stormwater-grant-for-boat-haven/">Port of Port Townsend turns down stormwater grant for Boat Haven </a></b><br />Port of Port Townsend commissioners have declined a $200,000 grant from the state Department of Ecology, citing expense and a lack of a need for it now. Commissioners took the action on Wednesday. The Integrated Planning Grant (IPG) — which had been applied for by the previous administration — was intended to help the port address soils contamination and stormwater quality issues in the boatyard. It also would have helped in planning for the redevelopment of the uplands at Boat Haven to allow for “intensification of use” there. Even though the IPG is a fully-funded grant, the port would have to incur some costs to use it, specifically staff and possibly consultant time. Commissioners agreed that they did not have the money in the budget. Jeannie McMacken reports. (Peninsula Daily News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/first-nations-leaders-at-odds-over-potential-pipeline-ownership-1.5112234">First Nations leaders at odds over potential pipeline ownership </a></b><br />An Indigenous group is urging other First Nations to not invest in the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, arguing it is not a sound investment. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) has penned an open letter to some leaders who are exploring the idea of partial ownership in the project. It warns of potential financial risks tied to the proposed pipeline expansion if it gets the ultimate green light from Ottawa. Tanya Fletcher reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/seaworld-publishes-decades-of-data-to-help-wild-orcas/">SeaWorld publishes decades of data to help wild orcas </a></b><br />The endangered orcas of the Pacific Northwest live very different lives from orcas in captivity....SeaWorld, which displays orcas at its parks in California, Texas and Florida, has recently published data from thousands of routine blood tests of its orcas throughout two decades, revealing the most comprehensive picture yet of what a healthy orca looks like. The information could guide how and whether scientists intervene to help sick or stranded orcas in the wild. Gene Johnson reports. (Associated Press)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://canoe.com/news/national/b-c-spotted-owl-breeders-hoping-for-new-chicks-as-fertile-eggs-ready-to-hatch">BC spotted owl breeders hope for chicks as fertile eggs ready to hatch </a></b><br />It takes fake eggs, sterile incubators, some trickery and years of trial and error to breed Canada’s almost extinct northern spotted owl in captivity. Researchers at British Columbia’s Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program centre in Langley say their fingers are crossed this spring as they delicately tend to at least one fertile egg, due to hatch within days. (Canadian Press)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--<br /></b>West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;250 AM PDT Mon Apr 29 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft &nbsp;at 10 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind to 10 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind &nbsp;waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 11 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-28100459083984792872019-04-26T07:44:00.001-07:002019-04-26T07:44:16.627-07:004/26 Skunk cabbage, Audubon, salmon fishing, hatchery fish, Kitimat refinery, MPAs, offshore drilling, drinking water standards, Cascades glaciers, retiring coal plants, sea star disease, Skagit farms, plastics<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bqscYzYFQNk/XMMZJUZeXvI/AAAAAAAAJjU/fLkYDk7XBwMqsGRBcKUrd7i3RV6-YEVqgCLcBGAs/s1600/WesternSkunkCabbage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="220" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bqscYzYFQNk/XMMZJUZeXvI/AAAAAAAAJjU/fLkYDk7XBwMqsGRBcKUrd7i3RV6-YEVqgCLcBGAs/s1600/WesternSkunkCabbage.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western skunk cabbage</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Western skunk cabbage</b> <i>Lysichiton americanus</i><br />Western skunk cabbage (USA), yellow skunk cabbage (UK), American skunk-cabbage (Britain and Ireland) or swamp lantern, is a plant found in swamps and wet woods, along streams and in other wet areas of the Pacific Northwest, where it is one of the few native species in the arum family. (Wikipedia)<br /> <br /> <b>Happy Birthday, John James Audubon</b><br />John James Audubon (born Jean Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his extensive studies documenting all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled <i>The Birds of America (1827–1839)</i>, is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species.<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/orcas-puget-sound-salmon-charter-fishing-cutbacks/">NW Charter Fishing Fleet Casts Wary Eye Toward Possible Cutbacks To Save Orcas </a></b><br />Pacific Northwesterners are undeniably fond of their endangered resident orcas. Many locals are also fans of salmon fishing, a hobby that sustains charter fishing fleets in coastal harbors from Neah Bay, Washington, to Brookings, Oregon. But now there is a chance that future fishing trips on the ocean could be curtailed to leave more food for the killer whales. Regulators are preparing to reassess the Pacific salmon harvest and an environmental lawsuit seeks more action to save orcas. The cross-currents of this quandary remain beneath the surface for most visitors to the sport fishing haven of Westport, Washington.&nbsp; Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/hatchery-fish-are-less-successful-at-reproducing-in-the-wild/">Hatchery Fish Are Less Successful at Reproducing in the Wild </a></b><br />Every spring, hatcheries in Alaska release more than a billion year-old pink and chum salmon. The fish spend a year out at sea growing up, before they return to be caught by the state’s fishing fleet. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. Of the roughly 1.8 billion fish released each year in the state, about 100 to 200 million make it back from the ocean. Of those that survive to adulthood, fishers catch almost 99 percent. Inevitably, though, some salmon evade the nets and make their way into local rivers and streams to spawn alongside their wild relatives. There are concerns that these hatchery-raised fish might be negatively affecting wild salmon populations, either by disrupting their spawning, or by breeding with them and weakening the gene pool. “Wild returns in Alaska are stable, but there is evidence from the lower 48 that hatchery fish have reduced spawning success,” says Kyle Shedd, a geneticist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.... New research by Shedd and colleagues adds some discouraging evidence that backs up those fears. Based on research conducted over the past two years, hatchery fish appear to have reduced spawning success compared to wild fish. This means that they could be weakening the whole population when they breed with wild fish. Brian Owens reports. (Hakai Magazine)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/entrepreneur-refloats-kitimat-refinery-trial-balloon-into-shifting-political-winds">Kitimat refinery trial balloon re-floated into shifting political wind </a></b><br />Victoria businessman David Black is pondering whether political winds might be blowing back in favour of his independent proposal to build an oil refinery near Kitimat, as opposed to the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion to Burnaby. Federally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has been cold to the idea, Black said, and Premier John Horgan hasn’t been able to extend support. However, with Alberta premier-elect Jason Kenney preparing to take office and odds wavering over the possibility of a turnover in government at Ottawa after October’s election, Black is reflecting on the supportive comments he has heard from conservative camps. “There’s no question they’ll be supportive,” Black said Thursday. Black, whose regular job is owner of Black Press, first proposed his plan in 2012. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canada-to-ban-industrial-activities-1.5109635">Canada to ban industrial activities inside marine-protected areas </a></b><br />Canada is banning industrial activities inside marine-protected areas (MPAs), including offshore oil and gas development and bottom-trawl fishing, but the prohibition won't automatically apply to activities in fisheries conservation areas designated as marine refuges. The decision, effective Thursday, also bans ocean mining and ocean dumping in MPAs, which are being created to help meet an international commitment to protect 10 per cent of Canada's ocean and coastal areas by 2020. Canada has reached 8.2 per cent of the conservation target. Paul Withers reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/npr-trump-administration-puts-offshore-drilling-plan-on-hold-after-setback-in-court/">Trump Administration Puts Offshore Drilling Plan On Hold After Setback In Court </a></b><br />The Trump administration is postponing controversial plans to greatly expand oil and gas drilling off of the nation’s coasts, following a recent setback in court and months of pushback from coastal communities. Last month, a federal judge in Alaska ruled that President Trump exceeded his authority when he signed an executive order to lift an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in parts of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The decision immediately reinstated those protections, and was a major blow to the administration’s efforts to boost oil and gas development across the country. Nathan Rott reports. (NPR)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/epa-chemical-standards-water.html">E.P.A. Proposes Weaker Standards on Chemicals Contaminating Drinking Water </a></b><br />After pressure from the Defense Department, the Environmental Protection Agency significantly weakened a proposed standard for cleaning up groundwater pollution caused by toxic chemicals that contaminate drinking water consumed by millions of Americans and that have been commonly used at military bases. Standards released by the agency on Thursday eliminated entirely a section that would have addressed how it would respond to what it has described as “immediate threats posed by hazardous waste sites.” Those short-term responses, known as removal actions, can include excavating contaminated soil or building a security fence around a toxic area. Eric Lipton and Julie Turkewitz report. (NY Times)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/little-snowpack-means-shrinking-glaciers-in-north-cascades/">Glaciers ‘deflating’ with Cascades snowpack 28% below normal </a></b><br />Glaciers in the North Cascades could shrink for the seventh year in a row. That’s because snowpack, which acts as a shield against hot summer days, has been lower than normal this winter, according to recent measurements taken at six sites in the region. The pattern continued despite an extra-chilly February that brought historic amounts of snow to the lowlands. Snowpack is currently 28 percent below normal, the fifth-lowest measurement since record keeping began in 1984 and the lowest since 2015. And there’s little time left for more snow to make up the deficit.continue to recede. Zachariah Bryan reports. (Everett Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/wyoming-pacificorp-coal-plant-retirement/">NW Utility PacifiCorp Considers Early Retirement For Some Wyoming Coal Operations </a></b><br />An energy company with hundreds of thousands of Oregon and Washington customers is considering the early retirement of some of its coal-burning operations. PacifiCorp released a new economic analysis Thursday that says its customers could save about $248 million over 20 years if the company decides to retire four of its Wyoming coal units by 2022. That would mean closing one coal-fired plant and reducing another plant’s capacity by half. PacifiCorp spokesman Bob Gravely said any electricity production lost from the retirement of coal operations would be made up in other ways, possibly with energy from wind, solar and natural gas. David Steves reports. (OPB)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/the-unexpected-winners-from-sea-star-wasting-disease/">The Unexpected Winners from Sea Star Wasting Disease </a></b><br />Since the darkness of sea star wasting disease fell upon the Pacific coast of North America in 2013, scientists have been working overtime to shed light on the consequences to the area’s complex marine ecosystem. At least 20 species of sea stars from Mexico to Alaska were affected by the disease, but the sunflower star, an aggressive predator with 24 arms, was hit the hardest. Sea star wasting disease rendered it into a pile of goo and spines. A new, decade-long study, which began six years before the outbreak and concentrated on two species at five intertidal sites in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet, adds depth to the data. The study confirms that sea star species suffered unequally during the outbreak, and reveals that at least one species benefitted from diminished competition. The study tracked the changing abundances of the purple, or ocher, sea star, and the mottled sea star. Larry Pynn reports. (Hakai Magazine)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/agriculture-census-shows-how-farms-changing-in-skagit/article_eeb6fdad-2927-51c3-b86c-fe58e787161b.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Agriculture census shows how farms changing in Skagit </a></b><br />Skagit County is losing farms, especially medium-sized ones, but is seeing new small farms sprout up. That’s according to 2017 data released this month from the Census of Agriculture, a U.S. Department of Agriculture survey conducted every five years. As of 2017, there were 1,041 farms in Skagit County, 33 fewer since the last survey in 2012, according to the results. The smallest operations, those with 1 to 10 acres, grew by 59, while the number of farms ranging from 10 to 500 acres decreased. Jacqueline Allison reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2019/019424/plastic-s-carbon-footprint">Reducing plastic's carbon footprint </a></b><br />From campaigns against microplastics to news of the great Pacific garbage patch, public awareness is growing about the outsized effect plastic has on the world’s oceans. However, its effect on the air is far less obvious. Plastic production, use, and disposal all emit prodigious amounts of greenhouse gasses, but scientists haven’t had a firm grasp on the scope.Now researchers at UC Santa Barbara have determined the extent to which plastic contributes to climate change, and what it would take to curb these emissions. The results appear in the journal Nature Climate Change. (UC Santa Barbara)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/heading-out-on-b-c-waters-keep-your-distance-from-marine-mammals">Heading out on B.C. waters? Keep your distance from marine mammals&nbsp; </a></b><br />Planning to head out on the water this season? Remember to be mindful of your aquatic neighbours. Close encounters between British Columbians and whales, sea lions and other marine animals are well documented in viral videos and photos but it’s important to remember the mammals are protected by law, no matter how cute or amazing your photo op might be. Here are a few reminders on how to safely observe marine mammals. Stephanie Ip reports. (Vancouver Sun)<br /><br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your weekend tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;253 AM PDT Fri Apr 26 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: red;"><br />SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM PDT EARLY THIS</span></strong><strong><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming 20 to 25 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft at 9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 8 ft &nbsp;at 7 seconds. A slight chance of showers.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 20 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft at &nbsp;7 seconds. A slight chance of showers in the morning then a &nbsp;chance of showers in the afternoon.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SAT NIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 20 to 25 kt becoming NW to 10 kt after &nbsp;midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 1 ft after midnight. &nbsp;W swell 8 ft at 9 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />SUN</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind to 10 kt becoming E 5 to 15 kt in the afternoon. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 9 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-71894222229480989512019-04-25T07:35:00.004-07:002019-04-25T07:35:49.464-07:004/25 Swallow, bad air, pipeline, toxic waste fund, restoriation, feeding orcas, hatcheries, gray whales, spill cleanup, seafloor map<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gO1QGUXCcd0/XMHFK_ZE06I/AAAAAAAAJjI/x7Cr1dKzOlUYBhv3a2ek8K0_9cpofoDBACLcBGAs/s1600/Violet-green%2Bswallow_Glenn%2BBartley%253AVireo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="360" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gO1QGUXCcd0/XMHFK_ZE06I/AAAAAAAAJjI/x7Cr1dKzOlUYBhv3a2ek8K0_9cpofoDBACLcBGAs/s320/Violet-green%2Bswallow_Glenn%2BBartley%253AVireo.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Violet-green swallow [Glenn Bartley/Audubon]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Violet-Green swallows </b><i>Tachycineta thalassina</i><br />Violet-green Swallows breed in open evergreen and deciduous woodlands, especially woodlands with standing dead trees that feature woodpecker holes or other natural cavities. They breed across the western United States from sea level to as high as 11,500 feet elevation.... Violet-green Swallows feed on flying insects such as flies, leafhoppers, leafbugs, aphids, beetles, and winged ants that they catch and eat in midair. They skim low over water bodies and fields snatching up insects, but they also forage high above the ground.... Violet-green Swallows are common throughout the West, but populations experienced a decline of about 28% between 1966 and 2015, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.&nbsp; (All About Birds)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.knkx.org/post/state-air-report-gives-failing-grades-washington-sooty-particulate-pollution">‘State of the Air' report gives failing grades to Washington for sooty particulate pollution </a></b><br />Warmer weather and wildfire smoke are causing more air pollution in Washington. Three metropolitan areas in the state have the worst air pollution in the nation. They made the top-15 list for particle pollution in this year’s “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association, which looks at both particle pollution and ozone. The main cause driving the rising levels of short-term particulate, or soot, here is smoke from wildfires. Yakima came in sixth-worst, Seattle-Tacoma came in ninth and the Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene area tied with Sacramento-Roseville, California, for 15th place. California is the only other state with more than one area on the top-15 list; it has seven. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX) See also: <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregons-air-is-getting-worse-according-to-american-lung-association/">Oregon's Air Is Getting Worse, According To American Lung Association&nbsp;</a></b> (OPB)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/04/24/analysis/trans-mountain-ceo-says-expansion-will-make-waters-safer-even-if-tanker-traffic">Trans Mountain CEO says expansion will make waters safer even if tanker traffic spikes </a></b><br />Even when oil tanker traffic increases after the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, CEO Ian Anderson says the marine environment around Vancouver will be safer because of measures to protect orcas. “There will no doubt be measures taken that will make the transit and the understanding of the marine environment better than it was before,” Anderson said in a podcast interview with ARC Energy Research Institute, the investment analysis arm of an energy-focused private equity fund. “There will be incremental benefits to the whole value chain of marine traffic in the Salish Sea." Anderson, Trans Mountain Corp.'s president and chief executive officer, was referring to measures recommended by the National Energy Board (NEB) to mitigate "significant" adverse environmental impacts on Southern resident killer whales (orcas) and on Indigenous cultural use related to them. Alastair Sharp reports. (National Observer)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/so-this-turn-off-the-taps-thing-would-it-work">Can Alberta really ‘turn off the taps’ to B.C.? Here’s what we know about Jason Kenney’s plan </a></b><br />Jason Kenney, the soon-to-be premier of Alberta, rode to victory vowing to implement policies that would empower the province to fight back against its foes. Among them was Kenney’s promise to “turn off the taps” to British Columbia. He vowed to proclaim legislation into law that would enable him to squeeze the supply of oil and gas going into B.C., as part of a larger United Conservative strategy to exert pressure on the province and the federal government in order to get the Trans Mountain pipeline built. The stalled pipeline is widely seen as a key component of Alberta’s economic recovery. But the question remains: How would “turning off the taps” work? Is it even constitutional? Tyler Dawson reports. (National Post)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/man-convicted-in-pipeline-break-in-gets-new-trial/article_d963c5df-6b03-5186-8aa0-36a8dbbbabf7.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Man convicted in pipeline break-in gets new trial </a></b><br />A man convicted of burglary for breaking into the Kinder Morgan oil pipeline facility west of Burlington in 2016 has been granted a new trial. In June 2017, Kenneth Ward, 63, was sentenced in Skagit County Superior Court to community service after a two-day trial that ended in him being convicted for second-degree burglary. A second charge of criminal sabotage resulted in a mistrial because the jury failed to reach a verdict. It was the second time Ward of Corbett, Oregon, had been tried on those charges — the first trial earlier that year ended in a mistrial. Kera Wanielista reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.invw.org/2019/04/25/big-oil-aims-to-kill-tax-increase-to-fund-toxic-site-cleanups/">Big Oil aims to kill tax increase to fund toxic site cleanups </a></b><br />While newly empowered Democrats and environmentalists are winning passage of many pro-environment bills, big oil companies are laboring mightily to defeat one proposal that would speed cleanups of toxic waste sites by increasing a tax on crude oil brought to Washington refineries. The Senate proposal – SB 5993 – would roughly double the state’s hazardous substances tax. The proceeds would pay for cleanups that have been put on hold or slowed due to large fluctuations in global oil prices and legislative budgeting maneuvers after the Great Recession that in effect stole voter-approved cleanup funds for other uses. As the Legislature nears the end of its regular session, the state’s oil refiners, agriculture and business lobbyists are joining Republican lawmakers in pushing to halt any tax increase. Meanwhile, environmental advocates and local government lobbyists are pressing for additional funding to speed the state’s cleanup of some 6,000 remaining toxic waste sites. Brad Shannon reports. (Investigate West)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2019/04/24/duckabush-restoration-promises-major-benefits-for-five-species-of-salmon/">Duckabush restoration promises major benefits for five species of salmon </a></b><br />An ecosystem-restoration project that would replace two bridges across the Duckabush River and restore a 38-acre estuary on the west side of Hood Canal has moved into the design phase with funding from state and federal governments. The project, which would improve habitat for five species of salmon along with a variety of wildlife, is the subject of a design agreement between the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)<br /> <br /> <b>Saving salmon</b><br />David Beatty agrees with Kenneth Pritchard's comments about how salmon protection and restoration opportunities have been lost because of misallocation of funding. "Kenneth Pritchard is correct on the Skagit Salmon Story. Too much has been&nbsp; spent (money and time) on failed watersheds for wild salmon, e.g. the Duwamish/Green River. Instead focus on <a href="https://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/stronghold-approach/">Wild Salmon Strongholds</a>, e.g., the Skagit River and major Tributaries." And check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7IjrxYsW_o">TEDx talk on Salmon Stronghold</a>s.&nbsp; <br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/25/orca-starving-washington-feed-salmon-lummi-native-american">A pod of orcas is starving to death. A tribe has a radical plan to feed them </a></b><br />Bobbing on the gray-green waters west of Washington state’s San Juan Island, Sle-lh’x elten Jeremiah Julius lifted a Chinook salmon from a 200-gallon blue plastic fish box. He carried the gulping fish to the boat’s rail and slid it into the sea, where it lingered a moment, then disappeared in a silver flash. It was a quietly radical act. This sea once teemed with the giant salmon, which in turn sustained thriving pods of orca. Today wild Chinook fisheries are in decline, and the orcas are starving. Julius is the chairman of the Lummi Nation, a tribe pushing an unorthodox policy. They are feeding salmon to the wild whales.&nbsp; Levi Pulkkinen reports. (The Guardian)<br /><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.columbian.com/news/2019/apr/24/hatching-new-campaign/">Hatching new campaign </a></b><br />For 30 years, wild fish advocates have been framing hatchery produced salmon as the biggest obstacle to wild salmon recovery, and throwing their money, lobbying muscle, and legal expertise behind a concerted move to remove all hatchery fish from the rivers of the Northwest. However, sport anglers say that many of the promises and claims made by the conservation groups about the recovery of wild fish have not materialized, and now a coalition of sport anglers are pushing back. Armed with several new scientific studies that cast doubt on the arguments used against hatchery fish in the past, they are organizing to get their message out. The coalition centers around Hatchery Wild Coexist. The group is promoting a return to using responsible hatchery practices and putting fish back in our rivers. Terry Otto reports. (Columbian)<br /><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/dead-gray-whales-oregon-washington-beach/">Why Are Gray Whales Washing Up Dead On Northwest Beaches? </a></b><br />An unusually large number of gray whales are washing up dead on their northbound migration past the Oregon and Washington coasts this year. The peak stranding time for gray whales in the Pacific Northwest is normally April, May and June. But the federal agency NOAA Fisheries has already logged nine dead whales washed ashore in Washington and one in Oregon. That’s on top of 21 strandings on California beaches since the beginning of the year. There were a total of 25 dead gray whale strandings on the entire West Coast in all of 2018. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article229626439.html">Former brewery building to be removed as part of oil spill cleanup in Tumwater</a></b> <br />Boston Street Southwest in Tumwater was closed Wednesday as crews continued to clean up after an oil spill at the former Olympia Brewing Co. property. Crews this week plan to remove a building located next to the site of the transformer that leaked oil into the Deschutes River and Capitol Lake in February. The building houses other transformers. Boston Street was closed between Custer Way Southwest and Deschutes Way Southwest. The closure could last into Friday depending on how long the work takes.In late February, the transformer was damaged by vandals and spilled oil containing a low concentration of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, which can accumulate in bodies of water and reach harmful levels in fish. (Olympian)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190424125113.htm">Salish seafloor mapping identifies earthquake and tsunami risks </a></b><br />The central Salish Sea of the Pacific Northwest is bounded by two active fault zones that could trigger rockfalls and slumps of sediment that might lead to tsunamis, according to a presentation at the 2019 SSA Annual Meeting. These tsunamis might be directed toward the islands of San Juan Archipelago, Vancouver Island and low coastal areas of the United States including Bellingham, Washington. (Science Daily)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;258 AM PDT Thu Apr 25 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt in the afternoon. &nbsp;Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 10 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft &nbsp;at 10 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-57022157430101249862019-04-24T07:38:00.002-07:002019-04-24T07:38:56.377-07:004/24 Tiger rockfish, WA clean energy, saving salmon, crude oil vapor, nature time, herring DNA, Navy training, Deepwater Horizon spill<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RFCPoA6bBjE/XMB0z2sifyI/AAAAAAAAJi8/ia5aFZyuCVoHC-BimfrNkUfFojrwuTxWQCLcBGAs/s1600/TigerRockfish_AHarding_RaceRocks.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="337" height="293" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RFCPoA6bBjE/XMB0z2sifyI/AAAAAAAAJi8/ia5aFZyuCVoHC-BimfrNkUfFojrwuTxWQCLcBGAs/s320/TigerRockfish_AHarding_RaceRocks.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiger rockfish [A. Harding/Race Rocks]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Tiger rockfish</b> <i>Sebastes nigrocinctus</i><br />Tiger rockfish range from Kodiak Island and Prince William Sound, Alaska, to Tanner and Cortes Banks in southern California. They occur at water depths between 18 and 298 m (60-984 ft). Adult fish live on rock outcrops that have caves and crevices. They are rarely observed in the open during the day. Tiger rockfish can grow up to 61 cm (24 in) in length. Maximum age is 116 years old.<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/washington-state-passes-100-clean-energy-by-2045-law#gs.7lat6i">Washington State Passes Law Requiring 100% Clean Energy by 2045 </a></b><br />Washington state’s Senate on Monday gave the final vote of approval to a law requiring 100 percent clean energy by 2045, joining three other states — New Mexico, California and Hawaii — with similar legislation on the books. A new Puerto Rico law requires 100 percent renewables by 2050. Governor Jay Inslee (D), who is running for president on a climate change platform, has championed the Washington bill. It now goes to his desk for signature. Like other states, Washington’s legislation leaves technologies such as nuclear and carbon capture and sequestration on the table. In addition to requiring 100 percent clean energy, Washington’s law mandates a coal phaseout by 2025 and requires that utilities ratchet up their clean-energy commitments over time. Coal accounted for 13 percent of the state’s mix in 2017. Emma Foehringer Merchant reports. (Green Tech Media)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://q13fox.com/2019/04/23/survive-the-sound-clock-ticking-for-salmon-saving-projects-in-mason-county/">Survive the Sound: Clock ticking for salmon-saving projects in Mason County </a></b><br />The clock is ticking for several projects in Mason County that could help our endangered salmon and Puget Sound orcas. Residents and elected leaders say the problem is lip service: the Legislature and governor not putting enough money where their mouths have been.&nbsp; Mason County has plenty of great habitat for salmon, but the one thing this rural county doesn’t have a lot of is money. Folks in Mason County say they’ve been dealing with a river in crisis for more than a decade. The Skokomish River is the most flood-prone in the whole state. The river is the biggest source of fresh water into Hood Canal. The massive natural waterway which is critical to a healthy Puget Sound. Tim Joyce reports. (KCPQ)<br /> <br /> <b>Skagit salmon story</b><br />Yesterday's news story about the plight of salmon in the Skagit River [<a href="https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/skagit-river-has-lost-half-of-important-habitat-for-salmon-that-orcas-depend-on/281-2e605125-4c75-437c-a62e-5d37e178773b">Skagit River has lost half of important habitat for salmon that orcas depend on</a>] prompted reader Kenneth Pritchard to write: "When salmon recovery was young, I knew we were going to waste money by spending too little here and too little there and too much for hardly nothing over there.&nbsp; It’s as if first aid responders came to a train wreck wasting time patching a cut finger, putting ice on someone’s forehead and doing CPR on a couple other people.&nbsp; Meanwhile, 3 or 4 people are left unattended going into shock and slowly bleeding to death. I suggested to those who would listen that we try to save the big systems that are still worth saving (like the Skagit) by creating salmon trust lands.&nbsp; And rich communities like King County and Seattle would contribute their share.&nbsp; The first step would be to buy as many as the development rights as possible and allow the land to be farmed under highly restrictive salmon friendly covenants, lease land for ultra green housing, close down certain roads and do habitat restoration on a large scale where practicable. It was politically unfeasible. Well, now the money is mostly gone and no one cares about salmon anymore and few see the connection between inland habitat and orca habitat.&nbsp; Meanwhile, agency people tour restoration sites on the Duwamish or in suburban Bellevue where land value is 10 times what it was in the Skagit and they nod their heads as if we are making progress. End of story."<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://bc.ctvnews.ca/plan-to-help-chinook-salmon-orcas-dismissed-as-unfairly-targeting-sports-fishermen-1.4392094">Plan to help Chinook salmon, orcas dismissed as unfairly targeting sports fishermen </a></b><br />As the federal government hears feedback on a new plan to protect orcas, local fishermen and fishing groups say another recently announced action will impact local economies and question whether proposed actions to help orcas are unfairly targeting sports fishermen. Last week, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced what it was doing to help declining Fraser River Chinook salmon. That included non-retention of Chinook in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Southern Strait of Georgia until July 31. Conservationists say it's a necessary move for Southern Resident killer whales. Darren Wright, owner of the Island Outfitters in Victoria says they have halibut fishing gear on display because that’s basically all they can sell. He expects business to slow down, and warns the measures will have a big and widespread impact. Bhinder Sajan reports. (CTV)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/salmon-conference-solutions-protect-fish/">Salmon Conference Calls For Innovative Solutions To Protect Fish </a></b><br />What to do with the four Lower Snake River dams and how to best protect imperiled salmon have been a tough questions for decades. They were the focus at a conference on salmon Tuesday at Boise State University’s Andrus Center for Public Policy. Bonneville Power Administration’s top official said removing the dams would be a difficult task. Elliot Mainzer, the head of BPA, said he’s doing “significant due diligence” to understand the best path forward to protect salmon, while still keeping energy costs low. He said the administration must adapt and change. “We’ve got to try to lean in a bit more for the fish,” Mainzer said. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/042319-crude-by-rail-vapor-standards-bill-heads-to-washington-governors-desk">Crude-by-rail vapor standards bill heads to Washington governor's desk&nbsp; </a></b><br />A bill that could dramatically impact roughly 150,000 b/d of crude-by-rail traffic to refineries in the Pacific Northwest has been sent to Washington Governor Jay Inslee's desk to be signed into law, but it remains unclear what the governor plans to do.... By law, the governor has five days to decide whether to sign the bill into law. The bill prohibits a facility, including Washington's five refineries along the Puget Sound, from loading or unloading any crude from a rail tank car unless the oil has a vapor pressure of less than 9 psi. The state senate Monday approved changes to the bill made by the House of Representatives March 12, which establishes the 9 psi standard only after a refinery increases its crude-by-rail imports by more than 10% from 2018 reported volumes. The changes essentially place a cap on a refinery's imports of crude shipped by rail through the state. North Dakota has threatened to sue Washington if the bill becomes law. The changes "do nothing to change this bill, or make it more palatable to the state of North Dakota or the oil and gas producers," said Kari Cutting, vice president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. "It is still the same bill, just a few different amounts. The State of ND still plans to litigate this bill as a violation of interstate commerce law."&nbsp; Brian Scheid reports. (S&amp;P Global)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/prescribing-nature-state-parks-program-to-kick-off-sunday/article_a9c408a8-6cc2-55f8-9d59-440d37541138.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">Prescribing nature: State Parks program to kick off Sunday </a></b><br />Prescribing time in nature is becoming popular among medical providers, with time outdoors shown to improve health. In partnership with the nonprofit Park Rx America, National Parks and Washington State Parks are gearing up for the first National Park Rx Day on Sunday. The day will involve events at parks across the state and nation. “Doctors and other health professionals are realizing the healing power of being outdoors and have taken to prescribing parks and other natural areas to their patients using <a href="https://www.blogger.com/ParkRxAmerica.org">ParkRxAmerica.org</a> to address diabetes, obesity, hypertension, depression and anxiety, among many other lifestyle-driven diseases,” Park Rx America founder and pediatrician Dr. Robert Zarr said in a news release. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.kcaw.org/2019/04/23/scientists-search-for-genetic-code-behind-herring-spawn/">Scientists search for genetic code behind herring spawn </a></b><br />All hands are on deck at Sitka Tribe of Alaska when herring spawn. Every year, employees and volunteers from across a variety of departments drop their regular responsibilities to set hemlock branches and collect as many herring eggs as possible. But that’s not the only thing the tribe is collecting this year. They’re also gathering genetic samples from herring and working with University of Washington researchers to uncover the code that dictates when and where herring spawn. Jeff Feldpausch is head of STA’s Resource Protection Department. In the many years that he’s harvested for the tribe, he’s seen fewer and lesser quality herring eggs on the branches he pulls for awaiting elders. Enrique Pérez de la Rosa reports. (KCAW)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/navy-extends-deadline-for-public-comment-on-training-proposal/">Navy extends deadline for public comment on training proposal </a></b><br />The Navy has extended the public comment period by another 15 days on its new report seeking to continue training and testing on the North Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere beyond 2020. Public comments may now be submitted on the draft supplemental Northwest Training and Testing Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement until June 12 for consideration in the final supplemental EIS/OEIS. The original deadline was May 28. Comments can be submitted online at <a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.nwtteis.com">www.nwtteis.com</a>&nbsp; (Peninsula Daily News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/04/deepwater-horizon-bp-oil-spill/">Nine Years Later, the BP Oil Spill’s Environmental Mess Isn’t Gone </a></b><br />Nine years ago, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana, causing the worst oil spill in US history. The disaster on April 20, 2010 killed 11 workers as the flaming rig sank into the Gulf of Mexico. It took nearly three months to stem the flow of oil from the ruptured undersea well. By then, four million barrels of crude had seeped into the surrounding water, endangering marine wildlife and throwing local ecosystems out of balance.&nbsp; The cleanup effort in the aftermath of the explosion was expansive and expensive. At its peak, more than 47,000 people worked on the response effort in the summer of 2010. By 2018, BP estimated that the spill had cost the company nearly $65 billion in legal fees, settlements, and funds for clean-up and restoration. Although much of the oil was recovered or dispersed in the ocean, the surrounding ecosystems still have not fully recovered. Some may never recover. Annie Ma reports. (Mother Jones)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;242 AM PDT Wed Apr 24 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;E wind to 10 kt becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the &nbsp;afternoon. W swell 6 ft at 11 seconds.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming E to 10 kt after midnight. &nbsp;Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after midnight. W &nbsp;swell 6 ft at 11 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-42029893943192602982019-04-23T07:45:00.001-07:002019-04-23T07:45:39.047-07:004/23 Horsetail, Skagit salmon, WA legislature, WA Ferries, un-development, beavers<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GHx9xonbfxw/XL8k-SpFxgI/AAAAAAAAJiw/hD9DgPncxDY8UMa0653r0iqYtFcaJGwbQCLcBGAs/s1600/Horsetail_F.Lamiot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GHx9xonbfxw/XL8k-SpFxgI/AAAAAAAAJiw/hD9DgPncxDY8UMa0653r0iqYtFcaJGwbQCLcBGAs/s1600/Horsetail_F.Lamiot.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horsetail [F. Lamiot]</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Horsetail</b> <i>Equisetum</i><br /> <i>Equisetum</i> (horsetail, snake grass, puzzlegrass) is the only living genus in <i>Equisetaceae</i>, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds. <i>Equisetum</i> is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire class <i>Equisetopsida</i>, which for over 100 million years was much more diverse and dominated the understory of late Paleozoic forests. Some <i>Equisetopsida</i> were large trees reaching to 30 meters tall. The genus <i>Calamites</i> of the family <i>Calamitaceae</i>, for example, is abundant in coal deposits from the Carboniferous period. The pattern of spacing of nodes in horsetails, wherein those toward the apex of the shoot are increasingly close together, inspired John Napier to invent logarithms. Despite centuries of use in traditional medicine, there is no evidence that <i>Equisetum</i> has any medicinal properties. (Wikipedia) <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/skagit-river-has-lost-half-of-important-habitat-for-salmon-that-orcas-depend-on/281-2e605125-4c75-437c-a62e-5d37e178773b">Skagit River has lost half of important habitat for salmon that orcas depend on </a></b><br />The Skagit River Valley has lost more than 50 percent of its floodplains and Chinook salmon runs are just 10 percent of what they once were. It is on rivers like the Skagit where scientists are trying to figure out a balance: produce food for hungry humans and for hungry whales. The Skagit River is one of Puget Sound's most important rivers for Chinook salmon and the killer whales who depend on them. Last week, KING 5 visited a fish trap that looks like a floating hut. Each morning, state wildlife technicians check to see what's been caught. "We operate from January through mid-July to catch juvenile salmon as they are migrating towards Puget sound," said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Clayton Kinsel. Kinsel's team is mostly counting chum salmon right now, some 3,000-4,000 each night. Southern Resident killer whales do eat chum, but scientists believe their diet depends on Chinook salmon. Those salmon are dwindling like the whales who depend on them, and the fish trap is helping scientists figure out how to stop that. Alison Morrow reports. (KING) See also: <b><a href="https://www.king5.com/video/news/local/saving-the-orcas/281-3cc3f544-8d96-4265-a358-4ce35014555a">Saving the orcas&nbsp;</a></b> Alison Morrow reports. (KING)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://kuow.org/stories/capital-gains-tax-i-1000-and-matt-shea-your-week-in-politics">What's happening the last week of the Washington Legislature's session </a></b><br />A capital gains tax, I-1000, a $50 billion-plus budget — Democrats are negotiating with Democrats on these and other issues coming into the last week of the Washington Legislature’s session. Angela King and Austin Jenkins report. (KUOW)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/Washington-State-Ferries-plan-sustainability-green-13786430.php">Washington State Ferries announces plan to reduce emissions, protect whales </a></b><br />Washington State Ferries is working to go even greener. That's the message in WSF's new two-year Sustainability Action Plan, which they released Monday in honor of Earth Day. The plan outlines goals and actions the organization plans to satisfy the state's Department of Transportation's commitment to sustainability, as well as the goals set out in Gov. Jay Inslee's Executive Orders 18-01 and -02, regarding environmental and orca protections. That includes six areas of focus, including greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, biodiversity, water, waste, and community impacts and engagement. Specifically, the plan outlines a goal to reduce ambient ferry noise throughout the system, remove dangerous creosote-coated timber from Puget Sound, and further develop an electric hybrid ferry program. The department also plans to further implement "operational efficiencies to reduce fuel consumption." Zosha Millman reports. (SeattlePI)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/these-buildings-are-coming-down-and-staying-down/">Un-development: Buildings are coming down — and staying down </a></b><br />Crews started pulling apart a barn and outbuildings in February. Instead of slapping up a McMansion on this partially wooded land along 58th Avenue SE, Snohomish County doesn’t plan to build anything. The idea is to make it a better home for wild flora and fauna, particularly fish that swim through Little Bear Creek on the south end of the property.... For the county, the project represents a new way of doing business. It’s meant to offset environmental damage from road projects that have yet to be built — things like widening two-lane roads to four. Federal, state and local regulations require environmental improvements, also known as mitigation, to make up for harm that construction does to habitat. The county calls this project “advance mitigation.” Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://kuow.org/stories/the-wild-episode-4">Leave it to beavers, seriously </a></b><br />Seattle city planners had an idea for Magnuson Park: To support wildlife, they would create a few ephemeral wetlands – habitats that would be wet in the spring and dry up in the summer. Seattle city beavers had another idea. You see, beavers really are eager builders. They can’t stand the sound of running water. It’s a nagging, innate thing they have to fix. “People have done some really cool studies where they’ve even taken a radio with the sound of running water and put it in a field. Beavers will come out and build a little circular dam over the top of the radio,” said Ben Dittbrenner, executive director of Beavers Northwest. So, yeah, the beavers in Magnuson Park threw out the plans and threw up some dams. They took over part of the park and changed the hydrology of the entire site. Those ephemeral ponds became permanent. Chris Morgan and Matt Martin report. (KUOW)<br /><br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;237 AM PDT Tue Apr 23 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 9 ft at 12 seconds &nbsp;subsiding to 7 ft at 12 seconds in the afternoon. A slight chance &nbsp;of showers in the morning.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt after &nbsp;midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 7 ft at 11 seconds. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879299900980605847.post-68253560937392131792019-04-22T07:23:00.003-07:002019-04-22T07:23:55.237-07:004/22 Song sparrow, Kalama methanol, Fort Worden, Squamish Nation, SnoCo solar, Uncertainties Matrix<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VEzVSLcYhWQ/XL3OYQSjq0I/AAAAAAAAJik/01yPoZm_T9slQl0DUloCUcP7uukMOvvowCLcBGAs/s1600/song-sparrow-patterns-tom-grey-285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="285" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VEzVSLcYhWQ/XL3OYQSjq0I/AAAAAAAAJik/01yPoZm_T9slQl0DUloCUcP7uukMOvvowCLcBGAs/s1600/song-sparrow-patterns-tom-grey-285.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Song sparrow [Tom Grey/BirdNote]</td></tr></tbody></table><i>If you like to listen: </i><b><a href="https://www.birdnote.org/show/learning-listen-patterns-songs-song-sparrow">Patterns in Songs of the Song Sparrow </a></b><br />Heidi Hoelting, a musician, listens carefully to the songs of birds. In her piano studio at her home in the woods, she wrote down several variations of the different sounds a Song Sparrow makes. In this BirdNote, Nancy Rumbel plays some of those variations on a bamboo whistle. <a href="https://birdnote.s3.amazonaws.com/Birdnote/sounds/Song_Sparrow_Nancy_Rumbel_13_variations.mp3">Listen to all thirteen variations,</a> as played by Nancy. (BirdNote)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/methanol-plant-kalama-fossil-fuel-china/">For Plastics Or Fuel? A Controversial Methanol Plant May Be Misleading The Public, Regulators </a></b><br />Nearly four years ago, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee touted a new company that was coming to Kalama to revolutionize the methanol market. On that sunny August day on the banks of the Columbia River, Inslee spoke alongside city and county leaders, business people and executives from NW Innovation Works (NWIW), a Chinese-backed company looking to build three massive natural gas to methanol plants in southwest Washington.... The governor praised the creation of hundreds of family-wage jobs, millions of dollars in local tax revenue, and the plant’s biggest selling point: the methanol it created from natural gas could help clean up China’s plastics industry. The project has been pitched by its developers and the governor as one way to combat climate change. They say making methanol from natural gas in plants that use renewable power could eventually displace many of China’s dirtier coal-based plants.... But the climate change-crusading governor currently running for president may not have know that NWIW was selling a different story to investors — one less focused on producing cleaner methanol for plastics and more on an opportunity to buy into a new methanol supply chain to fill China’s insatiable appetite for fuel. Documents obtained by OPB show that NWIW is saying one thing to state regulators while eyeing China’s fuels market. As recently as January 2019, PowerPoint presentations shown to potential investors in the Kalama facility detailed the company’s apparent intent to burn their methanol for fuel in China. Molly Solomon reports. (OPB)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/state-parks-hears-public-on-fort-worden-changes">State parks hears public on Fort Worden changes </a></b>/<br />The state Parks and Recreation Commission is in a pre-design phase on a project at Fort Worden that would remove the boat launch and questions what to do with the pier. About 75 people attended a public meeting Thursday night at the Fort Worden Commons to provide input on three alternatives. One would rehabilitate the pier and add an elevated boat launch. Another would relocate the pier and require the Port Townsend Marine Science Center to build on land. A third option would remove both the boat launch and pier without replacing them; it also would require the Marine Science Center to move. Brian McLean reports. (Peninsula Daily News)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/little-known-history-of-squamish-nation-land-in-vancouver-1.5104584">The little-known history of Squamish Nation land in Vancouver </a></b><br />The Squamish Nation's proposal to build up to 3,000 apartment units southwest of the Burrard Bridge is shedding light on the historic ejection of members from their traditional territory in the area more than 100 years ago. The area in question is west of the Molson Brewery site, near Vanier Park on the False Creek waterfront, in Kitsilano. Some controversy erupted online last week after some Kitsilano residents were quoted as saying they wanted to consult with the Squamish Nation about the development. But some Indigenous people have pointed out that the Squamish people were never consulted when they were removed from the same piece of land in 1913. Angela Sterritt reports. (CBC)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.knkx.org/post/community-solar-comes-snohomish-county">Community solar comes to Snohomish County </a></b><br />Solar power can feel out of reach. Upfront costs are usually considerable and you need a sunny roof or open space where you can put the panels. Community solar projects make it more accessible, by allowing ratepayers to buy shares in an installation that’s financed and operated by a group of investors. Utilities around the state, including Seattle City Light and Avista, offer them. Now, Snohomish County PUD is getting in on the game — in a big way. The PUD's Arlington Microgrid Community Solar Project will be the largest in the state. It will generate enough electricity to power about 50 homes. The array has 1,620 panels and covers nearly 2 acres on a site owned by the PUD, near Arlington airport. Ratepayers can opt to pay for as little as one sixth of a panel, at a cost of $120 dollars. Those investors get credits on their bills for the 20-year life of the project. The utility expects it will take about eight years to pay off the upfront cost. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.pugetsoundinstitute.org/2019/04/puget-sounds-known-unknowns-the-grand-uncertainties-matrix/">Puget Sound’s known unknowns: The Grand Uncertainties Matrix </a></b><br />According to the Puget Sound Institute's lead ecosystem ecologist Tessa Francis, "The Grand Uncertainties Matrix, or the “GUM” is essentially a way for us to keep track of the biggest questions that we have related to Puget Sound recovery, questions that arise while developing implementation strategies. It is a compilation of things that we are uncertain about. Gaps in our knowledge that come up during the process of working on these strategies.... We were talking through the process of building implementation strategies and we recognized that along the way there will be questions that arise, unknowns about how the Puget Sound social-ecological system works. Probably they will range from questions we don’t have the answers for immediately — but the answer is out there somewhere — to large science gaps that require research to resolve. We really wanted to be able to capture all of those, because all of them are barriers to progress in some way. We thought if PSI starts to collect those and rank them, we can start to address them and move the implementation strategies forward." Jeff Rice reports. (Puget Sound Institute)<br /> <br /> <b> <br /> Now, your tug weather--</b><br />West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca- <strong><span style="color: darkslateblue;">&nbsp;252 AM PDT Mon Apr 22 2019</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TODAY</span></strong>&nbsp;SE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the &nbsp;afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 6 ft at 10 seconds. &nbsp;Showers.&nbsp; <strong><span style="color: maroon;"><br />TONIGHT</span></strong>&nbsp;SW wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell &nbsp;9 ft at 11 seconds. Showers in the evening then showers likely &nbsp;after midnight. <br /> <br /> -- <br /> "Salish Sea News &amp; Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.<br /> <br /> <b>Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate</b><br /> <br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/savepugetsound/"><i>Follow on Twitter.&nbsp; </i></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2011/10/salish-sea-communications-truth-well.html"><b>Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told</b><b><br /> </b><b> </b></a><br />Salish Sea Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390794466991625894noreply@blogger.com0